Flashpoint
by CaptainZoom
Summary: The SG1 team are captured while on a mission of exploration offworld... and are presented with an offer they can't refuse [S.9]
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate SG-1: Flashpoint**

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

_Oh boy, just another regular, run-of-the-mill day at the office…_ Lieutenant Colonel Cam 'Shaft' Mitchell thought to himself with wry amusement, as he kicked his feet out again against the metal grille in front of him.

He, along with the other three members of Earth's flagship team SG-1, were on a planet halfway across the galaxy from their homeworld… and, after talking less than a dozen steps down off the podium on which the Stargate was located on that world, they had all been struck within moments by zat-gun fire, and were taken into captivity.

"Damn this… so, anyone have any idea just who we're dealing with?" Mitchell asked, looking around at the other members of his team. He was sitting in one large, dank, somewhat smelly cell along with the brilliant archaeologist, Dr Daniel Jackson; he was lying sprawled out across a lightly padded metal bedspread mounted up against the rear wall. Carter and Teal'c, the former First Prime of the Goa'uld System Lord, Apophis, were in the cell immediately beside their companions.

"I do not know, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied in his customary deep, resounding timbre. "I was not able to glimpse our assailants."

"Yeah, they were fast alright." Jackson rolled his legs around so that they were sticking off the side of the spartan sleeping platform, then propped himself up with his arms so he was sitting upright. "One moment, we were stepping through the Stargate and walking out across this new world, the next… Sam, you didn't see anyone out there before we were attacked, did you?"

"No, no-one at all," the Colonel replied, frowning slightly. "They must have been waiting in the high grass surrounding the Gate…"

"They also used zat'ni'katels, but since the demise of the Goa'uld, the spread of these weapons has indeed been considerate." There was nothing to do but wait, and see just what the people who had captured them wanted. If there was a way to escape, any one of the four members of SG-1 would try and take it, try and get the rest of their unit out… but there was nothing that any of them could do until that chance came.

"Oh, I'm getting _so_ tired of this!" Cameron Mitchell whined, slapping his fist against the stone-slab wall beside him. The sound of the impact of flesh on stone was quite audible throughout the large dungeon room. Cam had to bite down on his lower lip to keep the whimpers of pain from bubbling out… it was a bad idea to hit out at that wall, and it had now been made painfully obvious.

# SG1 #

At the top of a staircase high up to the left, on the other side of the dungeon chamber, a door opened up with a low squeaking sound, and all four members of SG-1 turned to look at the three men who stepped through the new opening. They were all large men, that was clear to see, and were armed with an assortment of Goa'uld weaponry.

One of the men, the slightly shorter, blonde-haired one in the middle of the small pack, was armed with a zat-gun jammed into the waist-belt in front of him, while the other two men (both with very short-cropped dark-brown hair) were clutching staff weapons. They all had the steely-faced determination of men who knew, and were quite comfortable with, the way of violence.

"I do not think these are Jaffa, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c whispered softly, as the armed men moved leisurely down the staircase towards their cell.

"Goa'uld? Human?" Daniel hissed back, before Cam could reply.

"Either case is possible," the Jaffa stated cryptically, clearly not prepared to take a stance on the issue one way or the other. The four of them watched silently as their captors approached, waiting for them to make the next move.

They did not have to wait long. The man in the middle, with the somewhat long blonde hair, smirked slightly baring gleaming white teeth.

"Hah, if it isn't the legendary members of SG-1, the renowned warriors of the Tau'ri! My master commanded me to capture you, so that he may propose a… collaboration, if you will. But I didn't quite expect the job to be so easy!"

"Well, you obviously know a lot about us, but we know nothing about you, or this 'master' that you work for. Why don't you tell us a little about who you are, and what this 'collaboration' that you have in mind is all about?" Cam asked, rising up to his feet to approach the metal bars of their holding cell… to get closer to the three men with the weapons.

The two massive men with the staff weapons immediately stepped forward, and took up firing stances in front of the man who was clearly their superior. They both activated the Goa'uld staff weapons, beckoning Mitchell back sternly with a couple of waves of the staffs.

The engaged heads of the two men's weaponry, coupled with the crackling flashes of plasma energy surging around the tips of the powerful devices, illustrated the point perfectly, and the Colonel immediately backed well away from the metal grille.

"It is not my place, but soon enough, all will be revealed to you… of that, I promise!" the blonde-haired warden said, and again, that thin, teeth-flashing smirk came back. Then, with a crisp beckoning wave, he and his companions swept back around and walked back the way they had come.

"Wait a minute, at least let us out of these cells!" Mitchell shouted at the retreating men, but they just kept on walking up the staircase and through the still-open doorway, ignoring his pleas.

The squeaky hinges made their low, piercing racket again as one of the guards shut the heavy-wood door back shut behind them.

Once they were alone again, Cameron turned to give the rest of his team a sharp appraisal. "Hey, any one of you could have jumped in there at any time," he scoffed angrily, disappointed mostly at himself for not being more suave and sophisticated when dealing with their captors.

"Well, you had things well in hand…" Daniel Jackson remarked, the sarcasm there just beneath the surface of his voice.

Samantha Carter jumped in before Colonel Mitchell could reply to the archaeologist's biting comment. "Teal'c, we're dealing with humans here, aren't we?"

"I believe we are, but as you all are no doubt aware, the Goa'uld have the ability to portray themselves as being human when they occupy a host, if they so desire," the towering Jaffa warrior replied.

Cam looked down at his wristwatch, only to notice for the first time that it was missing – it must have been taken off him as a possible weapon of some kind when they had been apprehended. "Okay, well I haven't really got the slightest idea how long we've been prisoners here, but after twelve hours when we don't check in with the SGC, General Landry's going to try and reach us for a radio-check… when he can't do that, he's going to send cavalry, right?"

"Well, an Unmanned Air Vehicle will probably be launched to do an aerial reconnaissance of the region, and then if he approves the operation…" Carter replied. There was some hope there, but not a whole lot, and that had Mitchell really disconcerted. "We just don't know who we're dealing with, and they might well have taken into account the likelihood of a rescue attempt from Earth, and acted accordingly."

"Great – General Landry won't be willing to act if he's going to send more airmen into a bloodbath… and let's keep this cheery fact in mind; these guys, whoever they are, took us _ALL_ out without being spotted or fired upon in turn," Dr Jackson stated. Those were not pleasant points to reflect on, but they were valid, important things to remember nonetheless.

They would just have to wait and see how things progressed.

# SG1 #

Hours passed – just how many, Cam Mitchell was not sure, but he knew he had drifted off to sleep at some point, so it was hard to gauge exactly how long they had been in their cells. He felt stiff in his bones, and his joints ached from being in one uncomfortable position for such a long time… but at least he felt fresher, ready for some action.

The Colonel looked around at the other members of the team, and saw that Dr Jackson and Teal'c were both resting. Sam was lying propped up against the metal bars of her holding cell, looking through the openings back at Cam.

"It's okay, you know that don't you? We'll get out of this," Colonel Carter said with smooth self-assuredness.

Cam gave a short laugh, and smiled with mirth that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Oh yeah, I haven't got a doubt we'll get out of this – we always do. I just think there's something a little, I don't know… _strange_, about all of this. It's the best word I can think of to describe the feeling I have."

"Yes, I think I know what you mean." Samantha Carter paused for a moment, frowning, clearly trying to find another way to describe what she was thinking at that moment. "It's impossible to really explain why I feel this way, honestly, but I think we should hear out whatever this man's boss has to say."

Lt Colonel Mitchell understood what Carter was getting at, and gave a short nod in agreement. "That's what we'll do, then – but whoever these people are, they stunned us with zats, took our weapons, and held us prisoner against our will, so they should be considered very hostile against us until proven otherwise."

"You've got it," the female Air Force officer replied, and the steely determination that had for a very brief moment fled her came right on back.

Suddenly, riveting both of their attention back toward the tall staircase and the door set into the wall high above, came the sound of the doorframe's hinges squeaking. And the three men they had met earlier came striding back down the stone stairway.

They might just get that explanation about all of this after all…


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Stargate Command, Earth,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Major General Hank Landry had only been in charge at Stargate Command, deep underneath Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, for the last nine months, but he thought he had a pretty good understanding of the base's personnel and operations.

There were certain things about the SGC that were quite out of the ordinary, as it were, when compared to other U.S. military installations… but there were many more things, in fact, that were very much the same.

It was the similarities, in fact, that still had the ability to throw Landry off-kilter. Especially when considering the fact that this installation, and those military and civilian personnel who worked within it on a day-to-day basis, were on the front lines of a galactic war that few if any could fully understand or appreciate…

Landry sat behind his large oak-wood desk for the longest while, trying to think of the reason why he couldn't for the life of him focus on the paperwork he had to get through…

There was something – he wasn't quite sure what, but there was definitely _something_ – that didn't quite sit right with the General. It was just his gut instinct. But over a long and distinguished career in the Air Force stretching back more than thirty years, going with his gut had pulled him out of the fire more times than Hank cared to remember.

He got up after a long moment's thought from behind his desk, and strode purposefully out of his office.

# SG1 #

There was a just a handful of SGC personnel in the Control Room when General Landry came striding in, but they all quickly leapt into action just as soon as they realised that their commanding officer was there.

Master Sergeant Walter Harriman, one of the Control Room's expert technicians and the senior ranking military officer there at that time, bolted upright like he'd been struck by a cattle-prod. It was almost comical… but Hank Landry was rarely the one to see humour in anything.

"Sir! Umph… ah, what can I do for you this morning?" Harriman asked in a stammering voice. He looked panicked, as though he'd been caught slackening off at his post, when really he had been running an important diagnostics program in the main computer system and was just as focused at this early hour of the morning as ever.

Hank couldn't help but smile. Walter was one of the most competent, professional non-commissioned officers he had ever worked with – but he was too critical of his own excellent performances sometimes. "I'm worried about SG-1 – it's unlike Colonel Mitchell to be so late in making contact with us."

"Well sir, we definitely haven't received any incoming communications from his team – none of the off-world teams have checked in, but then we aren't due at this time for any communications other than SG-1's first message."

"So, there have been NO incoming wormholes? No radio messages through the Gate?" General Landry asked directly, making sure that he wasn't mistaken. Although they still had a couple of hours left until the twelve-hour deadline had passed, it really was unlike the new leader of SG-1 not to have radioed into Stargate Command.

"No sir, nothing out of the ordinary at all," Walter reiterated. It wasn't the news that Landry wanted to hear, but Sergeant Harriman was simply reporting the truth so he could hardly be faulted for that. The gnawing sense of something being wrong only grew.

"Okay. I'll get a squad of Marines into the Gate Room, then I want you to dial PJ3-176 and establish a radio-link with SG-1 immediately," Landry said, as he reached over for a telephone on a nearby console to call in the on-duty detachment of Marine Force Reconnaissance soldiers.

The Jarheads came streaming quickly into the Gate Room beyond the plexiglass window in front of the General and the other of the Console Room technicians' mere moments after the call had been made.

Taking up their assigned positions around the metal ramp or at one of the two mini-gun turrets that were pointed at the Stargate itself, the soldiers cocked their weapons and quickly flipped off the safeties.

In the Control Room overlooking the now-crowded Gate Room, Master Sergeant Harriman went through the correct procedure to begin a dial-up of the address for the world SG-1 had embarked to – the planet designated PJ3-176 in their databanks. "Chevron 1, encoded," he said in his usual sharp, concise, ever-professional voice.

General Landry stood behind Walter Harriman, not quite peering over his shoulder but definitely a very real presence in that room nonetheless. Hank wanted to make sure that all the members his command's top team, SG-1, were okay… or confirm that they were not and plan the next move accordingly.

While the General contemplated the possible choices he had, if indeed his hunch was correct and SG-1 were in some sort of distress, Sergeant Harriman had continued on with his calm, smooth, deliberate statements. "Chevron 6, encoded. Chevron 7… locked!"

The iris, a huge circular shield that was stored within the Stargate's inner track and could be ejected to block any incoming objects through the wormhole in seconds, covered the Gate's event-horizon before it had fully formed, blocking the blowback effect from washing out of the well and protecting the SGC from any unwanted assaults. The shielding was made from trinium-titanium, and rested a mere few micrometers in front of the event-horizon when properly deployed.

"Walter, try the team on their radio frequency, immediately!" Hank Landry commanded. He could feel the sweat coating his palms, and his heart was beating away inside his chest at an accelerated pace. He didn't like the gnawing sense of panic welling up inside – now, with a Gate link to the world where SG-1 had been sent to and still no word from them after so many hours passed already, the feeling was only getting stronger.

"SG-1, this is Stargate Command. SG-1, please respond!" Sergeant Harriman radioed on the correct frequency that the team used. The signal could be transmitted through the iris, and through the event-horizon beyond… because of the active connection with Earth, the radio message was capable of being sent millions of light-years across space, to the planet known only as PJ3-176. If any one of the four team-members of SG-1 was within radio-range of the Stargate on that world, then they should be picking up the message… but there was nothing.

There was no answer, but for the depressing sound of crackling, distorted static. Walter kept on trying, sending out the same message over and over again for five whole minutes before conceding that, at that moment, they weren't going to be able to reach anyone on that world via radio.

Sergeant Harriman looked up towards the General at last, and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Keep trying, Sergeant!" Landry snapped gruffly, then quickly spun around on the balls of his feet and strode right on out of the Control Room, without looking back. Before he was out of earshot though, he barked at Walter without bothering to stop or turn around, "Let me know the moment you've made contact with someone on the other side. Don't stop trying until you do, Walter!"

The General had some tough options to consider now. It was still not quite before the twelve-hour deadline in which all SG teams had to check in with Command, but it was very close by this time – Landry was well prepared to consider his lead team in danger right that second, and would act accordingly. But, now it was a matter of _what_ he and his people could do…

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

The blonde-haired man just stared at Mitchell and Carter for the longest while, alternating his cold, dead gaze between the two of them. Then he finally spoke. "My master will see you now," he said simply. Cameron and Samantha Carter rose together in their two respective cells, because their jailer had been glancing between the two of them. But he quickly shook his head. "No, not you Colonel Carter; just the man, your new leader."

Sam sat back down in her holding cell, biting back the snapping remark that welled up in her mouth. She was co-commanders with Mitchell, which might not have meant a hell of a lot to their captors but sure was important to her!

Under the ever-watchful eyes of the two black-haired brutes with their staff weapons activated, their superior came cautiously forward to unlock the door leading out of Mitchell and Dr Daniel Jackson's prison cell, and beckoned to Cam to step out with him. The noise of the jingling keys woke Teal'c and Daniel, but Colonel Mitchell waved them both down with his hands, and mouthed to them without actually speaking that it was all right.

He wanted to find out just what this was all about… and that meant he had to talk to the person actually running the show here. Flanked by the two towering behemoths with their staff weapons trained at his back, Colonel Cam Mitchell was led by the blonde-haired warden up the stone flight of stairs and through the wooden, creaky-framed door, leaving the rest of his team behind in the dungeon…

The place was some kind of medieval-type fortress, Cam surmised, as he was led down a long corridor towards a towering set of reinforced double-doors. When he looked to the left, there were huge, arched windows all along that wall, which let in the bright, shimmering rays of the rising morning's sun… Colonel Mitchell would have paused to admire the beauty and majesty of the view, but for the men urging him sternly on down the corridor towards the end of the hall.

Stepping forward, the blonde-haired man shoved the huge wooden doors open with one big almighty push, and then stepped through the doorway and into the large chamber beyond. Mitchell and his two armed guards moved in afterwards.

The large chamber was alight with big, mounted torchlights blazing along the four walls, and there was a large, stretching rectangular dining table in the centre of the room. Every single spot on the dinging table was taken up with food or drink of some description. There were dozens of chairs along the table's full length, and a large ornate throne up on the other end of the room on which the chamber's one sole occupant sat, chewing ravenously at a huge leg of ham.

Colonel Cameron Mitchell blanched despite himself – he had never seen a creature like this before, but he knew instantly by the descriptions in SGC files dating back over the years just what this humanoid being was.

He was looking at an apparition from the depths of a horrific nightmare – a truly demonic creature unlike any other Cam had yet encountered on his travels through the Stargate. The Colonel was looking at a Unas…

The Unas, Cam knew, were a somewhat primitive race, with their own simplistic culture, basic religious practices, and tribal system. They had at one time been the first hosts of the Goa'uld, having both evolved together on the same planet, and many of their kind still were, as far as the intelligence reports went. Mitchell wondered if he was in fact in the presence of one of these Goa'uld, who had taken a Unas as a host body.

That question was answered immediately, when the Unas raised its head and its eyes glowed bright yellow… the undeniable sign that it was possessed by a Goa'uld symbiote. "Ah, you must be the new leader of SG-1! Tell me, what is your name?" the Unas asked, his voice laced with the unmistakable power and menace of the Goa'uld symbiote controlling him.

"Mitchell, Cam Mitchell." There was no point in fighting or resisting against the creature's questions – at least, not something as mundane as revealing his own identity. Colonel Mitchell was more interested in finding out why a Goa'uld had gone to the trouble of capturing him and his team, and then was willing to keep them alive and not torture them for information.

"Well, Cam Mitchell, my name is Tel'mar and I am the god of this world," the Unas said in a low, growling voice, looking to the three followers who had accompanied the imprisoned soldier into the dining chamber. "I see that you have met Denamor, my new First Prime, and the two dungeon guardians Telos and Kern. You may leave us, warriors of Tyriellon."

The three men bowed low to the Unas, who waved his right arm dismissively for them to leave the room. They did so promptly, with the blonde-haired man – now identified as the Goa'uld ruler's First Prime, Denamor – turning to close the large wood doors shut behind him. Once his followers had left the chamber, the Unas threw the half-eaten ham aside in derision, and looked up suddenly and sharply right at Colonel Mitchell.

"Alright then, let's get down to the reason _why_ you and your team are still alive right now," Tel'mar said. "That reason is simple – you have come to this world at the most opportune moment. You see, I am currently at war with a large percentage of my human population on this world. It seems that they wish to follow a blasphemous religion known as Origin – filth and lies that have lead so many of my beloved away from the true cause. Even now, a Prior of the Ori is gathering together these traitors to the south of this location, in dense forests that my forces have not been able to penetrate."

As Tel'mar paused in his speech, Cam moved cautiously forward, to stand near a seat to positions down from where the Unas was positioned. Slowly so as not to alarm the towering, monstrous being, the Colonel pulled the chair back and took a seat at the table. Tel'mar ignored this, and continued on with his tale. "This Prior has destroyed five of my patrols _single-handedly_, with powers beyond the understanding even of my centuries'-long existence. I have only just learnt days ago that the followers of Origin completely obliterated a legion I sent against their enclave – six thousand of my best warriors, including my former First Prime who had served me honourably for eighty years. We cannot face this enemy alone…"

As Mitchell listened to this, he had to struggle with trying to keep the multitude of emotions from showing on his face. He was hardly surprised that an Ori Prior was forcing this Goa'uld into a corner – and that his somewhat cow-towed slave population was finding the promises of the religion of Origin to be very hard indeed to refute.

But what surprised the Colonel most of all was that _the Goa'uld was willing to admit that he was outclassed_!

"So, why are we still alive? Are we expected to fight this rebellion of yours single-handedly… or to kill this Prior that's leading your enemies, perhaps? What makes you think that we will succeed where thousands of your best warriors have failed?" Cam asked. He looked to the Goa'uld Lord for the longest time.

This creature, this powerful and mighty being who had ruled over so many, who had destroyed civilizations and had waged wars across entire sectors of space, was now at the mercy of a ragtag group of religious extremists on a backwater planet… the Prior was the one leading them, the one with the true will and majesty on this world, and Tel'mar had nothing and no-one to use against him.

"I want you to eliminate this Prior, Cameron Mitchell. I want him dead, and I want the top lieutenants of his army dead as well. Do this for me, and the rest of the rebel forces will either re-swear their allegiances to me or be destroyed. The balance of power on this world will be restored. You and the rest of your team will then be allowed to leave through the Chapa'i unchallenged." At this point, the Unas grinned, baring its ugly, cracked and rotting fangs. "If you do not complete your mission, for any reason, then Colonel Samantha Carter shall die!"

"Carter is a part of my unit, an intricate part. We do not operate one member down. SG-1 goes into this mission for you as a four-person team, or not at all!" Cam shouted back immediately. He could feel this whole situation rapidly slipping out of his grasp, and the Air Force Colonel didn't like it one single bit.

"No, this will not be discussed any further. Colonel Carter will remain here, as my honoured guest of course, until you, the sho'vah Teal'c, and Dr Daniel Jackson return from your mission," the Goa'uld Lord said with a low, rumbling laugh. "I know that none of you would cooperate with a Goa'uld unless there was the right… _persuasion_ employed. I'm sure that you understand this."

Cam Mitchell couldn't help but wince slightly. The Priors were the harbingers of the troubled times to come; the envoys of the Ori, the ascended beings who so radically opposed the Ancients of the Milky Way Galaxy, that they were willing to wage a galactic war and kill billions of people to bring about their destruction.

He opposed the Ori and all of their followers for the falsehoods and suffering they would bring to the Milky Way, but the idea of working with a Goa'uld was nothing short of reprehensible. But, as Tel'mar had made quite abundantly clear, there seemed to be no real alternative.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Colonel Mitchell couldn't say a word for a long moment – his mind was racing away at a mile a minute, and it was hard enough even to stay standing upright. The pressure of the moment was pounding away at his head like a jackhammer. But he had to stay _focused!_ The imperative to try and regain some semblance of control over events was overwhelmingly strong on Cameron… and it also made sound tactical sense.

"Look, I need to get something sent from Stargate Command if we're going to take on this Prior for you," Cameron said with firm resolve, looking right at the Unas Goa'uld without fear or hesitation. "If we don't get this device, you can kiss this world goodbye because there'll be nothing stopping the Prior and his followers from wiping the floor with the lot of ya!"

"What device do you need, Mitchell?" Tel'mar hissed through tightly clenched teeth, glaring at the airman through slightly hooded eyes. "And trust me when I say this – I will not tolerate one single act of betrayal. If I feel like I am being misled in any way, I will kill all four of you and abandon this planet to its fate. There is always another world out there in need of my divine benevolence… if I must, I will leave, but I will make the cost of my departure so horrific it will make even the Prior take pause!"

Mitchell blanched. There were no mincing those words – the meaning behind them was quite clear. If the Goa'uld was forced to leave, then he was going to take his forces and extract such a heavy toll amongst the civilian population under his domain so that the Ori Prior will be hard-pressed to convert any more followers. It was a terror tactic, so brutally cold and callous… but it just might prove to be effective, if it had to be.

But Cameron Mitchell didn't want it to be employed at all. Not because he didn't act, or chose not to act. Regardless of whom he had to work with, it was the Colonel's primary task every time he stepped through the Gate to protect human lives from oppression and tyranny. The Ori were going to bring about a new age of enslavement and religious domination to the Milky Way Galaxy, unless brave men and women stood up and made their actions counted.

There was no choice in the matter – with or without the agreement of Tel'mar to get the Prior inhibitor device sent to them from Earth, SG-1 still had to attempt this mission. The Goa'uld and his loyalists would have to be dealt with in time, because Mitchell was by no means naïve enough to think they were just going to be let free once the operation was completed.

"Look Tel'mar, I'll help you, and my team will help you, just as long as you let us all do our jobs the way we would operate on a regular mission. No limitations, no restrictions. You and your forces still command an overwhelming numbers and weapons advantage – I imagine you have Al'kesh bombers and Ha'tak motherships at your disposal? So there should be no problems with this agreement," the Colonel said with forceful conviction.

"Alrght – you get what you need from your homeworld. One radio communication with Stargate Command, then they can send through the equipment that you need to eliminate the Prior. If they send through a rescue force or anything other than the device, there _will_ be violent consequences." Tel'mar's clawed fists were being clenched and unclenched – Colonel Mitchell could see quite clearly that he was pressing his advantage with the Goa'uld Lord. "I will allow you to send this message to your command now – but Denamor will be listening to your every word, and will be prepared to deal with you if there is the slightest deception."

The huge wooden arched doors swung wide open again, and Denamor came striding in, followed by his two armed lackeys in close pursuit. There were no more words exchanged between Tel'mar and Colonel Mitchell; the human just gave the Unas/Goa'uld a slight nod, which was returned, and rose up out of his chair to leave the dining hall.

The doors were closed firmly shut behind them as the small party left the room, leaving Tel'mar to continue enjoying his lavishly prepared feast alone….

# SG1 #

Denamor led the way through the fortress, past the entrance back down to the dungeon where the rest of SG-1 were being held, and to a large wide-open room where a multitude of weapons and equipment were stored. Mitchell quickly identified their gear from Earth amongst the vast amount of supplies.

"Say right where you are!" the First Prime of Tel'mar barked, slamming his right fist hard into Cam's stomach before he could take another step.

Colonel Cameron Mitchell buckled over in pain, almost falling down face-first onto the ground had it not been for one of his jailers, Telos, grabbing him under the right arm. Kern swiftly moved into position right behind the Tau'ri warrior and activated his staff weapon – the man meant business, and would not hesitate to fire his weapon at the slightest provocation.

"Point out the radio device to me, Cam Mitchell, and I will bring it to you," Denamor continued, staring right at the Colonel and keeping his right hand very close to his holstered zat-gun. Suddenly, there was a large crackling sound that filled the room, then the sound of voices speaking in a strangely alien dialect the Colonel could not understand.

Denamor snatched up a strange, round, slightly glowing device from his belt, and clicked a small depression on the side of it. Then he spoke briefly back into the device in that strange language. It had to be some form of ranged communications, employed by those in the service of the Goa'uld.

All the while, the warrior's eyes never left Mitchell. He smiled now at the Colonel, grinning with something akin to wolfish menace before finally speaking. "The Chapa'i is currently activated, and an entire contingent of warriors loyal to Tel'mar have surrounded it, with enough heavy weapons and explosive ordinance to repel an invasion force of hundreds. If you tell any of your people back on your homeworld about the true situation here, that your team has been taken captive by Lord Tel'mar, then the deal is off and you all die. If you deceive us and summon a rescue force, you'll be calling them to their deaths at the hands of my men, and I will then be forced to kill you and your team in retribution. My people will not leave the Chapa'i unattended for any reason, until your mission has been completed or you are all executed, so there is no possible hope for escape that way. Do not let this come to pass."

There was nothing benign in what Denamor was saying, or the look that blazed in his eyes as he spoke – if there was the slightest chance he was giving anything away, then there would be the swiftest of consequences for them all. Cam knew he would have to play everything _very _carefully from this moment on…

"Okay, its that thing right there." Mitchell pointed to one of the radios lying in a small bunch near the edge of one of the tables, and Denamor quickly walked over to snatch one up. He didn't take his eyes off Cam for a moment – and that right hand of his stayed _real_ close to the zat'ni'katel all the while. The First Prime cautiously passed the radio over to Mitchell, who took the device, activated it, and quickly depressed the TALK button.

He thought for a few short moments, about what he was going to say and how he was going to approach this whole set-up; then began to speak into the mike. "SGC, this is Mitchell, come in please." A pause, static and nothing more, then the Colonel pressed down on the button again. "SGC this is Colonel Cameron Mitchell, please respond."

# SG1 #

_Stargate Command, Earth,_

_Milky Way Galaxy._

Master Sergeant Walter Harriman was, yet again, the commanding officer in charge of the Control Room at the SGC – it was a position that he seemed to fill on a regular basis. To many a person working at Stargate Command, including Walter as well on occasion, it seemed that he rarely left the place to go home.

The Stargate had been activated from an outside source just a few moments earlier – the incoming wormhole was unscheduled, so the usual precautions were put into effect.

Armed troopers came rushing in from both entrances to the Gate Room, taking up their assigned positions around the Stargate as the iris immediately closed over – this would prevent any unapproved persons or objects from stepping through the event-horizon and coming out on the other side, at least in one piece. But nothing came through… except for a radio message over a military channel.

Walter immediately picked up the signal and had it patched through his computer speakers. It was Colonel Mitchell! "SGC, this is Mitchell, respond please…" With just a couple of mouse-clicks on his computer terminal, Sergeant Harriman had a direct line of communication open with the leader of SG-1.

"Colonel, this is Sergeant Harriman. I'll get General Landry right away!"

There was hardly a pause in the reply, slightly broken up through the transmission through the iris but hardly altered. "Don't worry about it, I can re-establish contact with you in exactly half an hour. But I need the Prior inhibitor device prepped and ready to be sent through the Gate ASAP – _just _the inhibitor, nothing and no-one else. We can set it up on our end." There was a pause, then, "Do you _understand_, Walter?"

Harriman was a pretty intuitive kind of person – he had to be to hold his current position, and to be somewhat of a liaison officer for the General in command of the SGC. He knew how to read someone well, how to tell when they were trying to convey something in their words or actions.

At that moment, he could tell that Mitchell was clearly attempting to convey something in his voice, in the tone and timbre of what he was saying. The Master Sergeant tried to read quickly between the lines, but at first came up with nothing.

"Yes, Colonel, I understand…" Walter Harriman said softly. "The equipment that you've requested will be made available to you in half an hour, I'm sure… and General Landry will be here to talk with you."

"Good, thank-you Sergeant. I will make contact with you then," the Colonel said in a straight, pleasant enough sounding voice. But there was definitely something finite under there, something not quite right about Cam Mitchell's voice as it came through the speaker system. Walter knew instinctively that there was something wrong.

He would have to inform the General immediately.

# SG1 #

General Landry had been working at his office – it was late again, as usual, but he couldn't stop working. The situation with his missing team, SG-1, was a plague on his consciousness, and Hank just couldn't wind down because of it. Various options and contingencies were being weighed and evaluated,

He was really glad that he hadn't gone home that night though, when Sergeant Harriman contacted him through the intercom system and told him about Colonel Mitchell reaching them through the Stargate. But when he got to the Control Room and learnt of the message, and also about Harriman's suspicions in regards to Mitchell attempting to convey something without just saying it outright – well, it brought understandable pause.

Hank Landry was left with quite a predicament.

"Well, prep the relevant personnel to have a Prior inhibitor packed and ready for transport through the Gate," Landry said to Harriman, as soon as he had enough time to process what he'd learnt and come up with a viable course of action.

"Already done, sir. They will be ready within the next ten minutes – that leaves ten minutes after that until Colonel Mitchell should get in contact with us again." The General was hardly surprised that the Master Sergeant was one step ahead of him – more often than not, Harriman was, it was just the way he was. "Sir, I have to say this – what if the Colonel has been captured, and is speaking under duress?"

"That sounds like a very real possibility, Walter, and I we'll find a way to confirm that theory and try to get our people home!" the General said with resolve. "But until then, we trust in SG-1 and hope they can face whatever challenges lie ahead on their own, at least for the time being."

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,_

_Milky Way Galaxy._

"The device is to be sent through the Chapa'i and nothing else. Men are down in the dungeon with the rest of your team right now, and at a single command, they will kill them all with their staff weapons. That will happen if we are betrayed," Denamor vowed. They were still standing in the storage room, and Colonel Mitchell was still holding onto the radio. The deadline for their next communication with the SGC was almost upon them.

"I know the stakes, Denamor; you don't have to keep repeating them to me." Both Telos and Kern had their staff weapons trained on Mitchell from behind now; and they were far enough away from him that Cam knew he had no chance whatsoever of disarming them both before he was killed.

"Alright, then I will tell the commander of the forces near the Chapa'i to expect your weapon to be delivered to this world." The First Prime smirked with contempt, and leaned forward so that he was very close to Mitchell, almost nose to nose with the human from Earth. "I will be right here beside you. Try anything that I do not approve of, and your death will be swift indeed."

# SG1 #

Landry sounded somewhat cautious on the other end of the radio connection – almost wary. Mitchell could understand this, as he had inflicted enough hints and nuances in speaking with Sergeant Harriman to cause it.

"Colonel Mitchell, its good to finally hear your voice! Is the rest of your team alright?" the General asked. General Hank Landry's voice was coming through the radio loud and clear. Mitchell could hear him fine… but so could Denamor and the others.

"Yes sir, we're all fine; well, as alright as we can be, under the circumstances," Cam replied. "Just a bit of Prior trouble, is all, but nothing that can't be handled thanks to some local assistance."

"So the planet has a Prior visiting?" General Landry inquired.

"Well, not exactly." Cameron paused for a moment, trying to formulate his words the right way in his head before continuing on. "It seems that this Prior is actually leading a portion of the planet's population against the other portion, the larger percentage that does not believe in the message of Origin. This world is on the verge of a full-blown civil war."

"So what is your intention?"

Mitchell sighed. He couldn't just come out and explain the real situation to his superior – that would not have gone down well at all with Denamor. He had to be very cautious here. "We plan to use the Prior inhibitor to stop this guy from using his special powers, then we'll ambush him and his bodyguard force before there's any chance he can adapt to the energy weapon's attack. The rest of the top echelon of the Ori force can then be taken out separately. I want to cut the head of this army off while there's a chance to stop a full-scale war."

"Operate as you see fit, Colonel." The General paused for a short moment, and then asked, "Do you require any other supplies, or additional personnel?"

"No sir," Cam said back with maybe a little too much haste. Denamor didn't pick up on the little slip, though, which was a lucky thing for Mitchell. "We should be fine with the Prior gun thanks."

"Alright then," Hank said, and it was quite clear by the way he spoke that he got the message Colonel Mitchell had been trying to send across – they were in trouble and needed assistance, but sending anybody through the Gate would be a _bad _idea. Help would be coming for them soon, but from another direction. "The Prior inhibitor is being sent through now. Good luck, Colonel."

"Thank-you, sir." The connection was severed, and Denamor received another communiqué from his man at the Chapa'i. Two large crates had been sent through the Gate on a large, sturdy trolley-device. The Prior inhibitor, Mitchell assured the First Prime of Tel'mar.

Now they had what they needed to defeat the Prior.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_Stargate Command, Earth,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

There was definitely something that had happened to SG1. It was undeniable now to General Hank Landry by the time he had severed communications with Colonel Mitchell on PJ3-176, and he had to act on this soon or risk loosing his four best people to some unknown danger off-world.

An idea was beginning to form in his head, but Hank knew a few variables he could not change had to go right for this to work. Still, he had to risk it – they had to try and make every attempt that could be made to get Teal'c, Cam, Daniel and Sam safely out of harm's way.

"Walter, is there any way to make contact with the _Odyssey_? It should be returning from a scouting mission against the Lucian Alliance's interests in Sector 279, correct?" the General inquired of his all-round answers man, Master Sergeant Walter Harriman.

"Ahhhh, I'm not entirely sure about that, sir… allow me a few moments to bring up its position, then I can find out if any of our deep-space relay stations can send out a communications signal to the ship." The Sergeant began typing frantically away at his keyboard set-up, working his computer terminal over like a master craftsman. His glasses were sliding precariously down his nose, to the point of almost falling off completely, but Walter didn't even notice.

General Landry left Harriman in the Control Room to do his work, retiring to his own private office until there were results to work on. He wanted the _USS Odyssey_, the United States' latest operational _Daedalus_-class battle-cruiser, to divert to support SG-1. And if they needed it, to extract them using whatever force was required to do so.

It was within his power to do so as commander of the SGC, so Landry was more than willing to exercise that ability.

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Teal'c and Daniel were allowed out of their cells, but not Sam – as Tel'mar had said, she was to be held until the mission was completed, as 'insurance' for their cooperation. "Don't worry, Sam, we'll be back before you know it," Colonel Mitchell said with a bright, chipper smile. Lt Colonel Samantha Carter tried to return the smile, but the light of it didn't quite reach her eyes.

So SG-1, minus Carter, was able to travel up to the storage room where all their equipment was and suit up again with their gear. Denamor was there, but this time there were no armed escort. He seemed comfortable enough to be there with his zat gun, alone and unsupported. Because his people had Samantha Carter…

"Alright then, I think now is about time to inform you that one of my men will be accompanying you all on this mission," Denamor said with a broad grin. His eyes blazed with ill-disguised contempt. "He is one of the most devout of our warriors, and an expert in a wide variety of the killer arts. His name is Artan. Please extend him the same courtesy that you would to me personally, and remember this – if he fails to make even one of his regular reports, for any reason, then the deal is off and Lord Tel'mar's retribution will be swift indeed."

Cam almost physically blanched at this. The threats of death being constantly bantered about – to him at least – were getting a little too much to cope with. He was starting not to take them seriously anymore.

"We will work with whoever you give us, just as long as they defer to my command, keep up when we're operating in the field, and don't do anything to endanger my team," Mitchell said. "Beyond that, I do not guarantee your man's safety. He is not my responsibility. So as long as that is understood, it's fine, he can tag along as far as he wishes. But if he puts any one of us at risk even once, then he's as good as dead and we'll take our chances with your 'repercussions'."

Denamor nodded his assent to what the soldier was saying, and then waved a beckoning hand over the other three men's shoulders. They all turned to look back towards the open doorway, to see a short, demure looking Asian man stride purposefully around the corner and come into sight.

He was short, yes, but still quite clearly menacing in lightweight jet-black Jaffa armour, and with a samurai sword sheathed and hanging down behind his back. The man was Jaffa, too – that was clear by the tattoo branding stamped on his forehead and the overall difference of his stance. It was the first time Cameron had noticed a Jaffa warrior among Tel'mar's forces.

"Thank you for allowing me to join your team. I am honoured to have this opportunity to serve my Lord, and to fight alongside the renowned warriors of the Tau'ri." Artan said with a slightly facetious smile, bowing his head to the three members of SG-1.

Teal'c returned the gesture, dropping his head slightly in a sign of respect – though the look on his face was that of ill-disguised contempt. Daniel Jackson grinned back and nodded, but there was a wary scepticism in his eyes that pleased Mitchell. Cam himself didn't even react to Artan, but simply turned his full focus back to his superior, Denamor.

"What are our objectives?"

Denamor turned to a nearby table, for the most part clear of equipment and weapons. He reached into his pocket and put a small, Goa'uld-designed device in the centre of the table, pressed a button on the device, then stepped back. A large, three-dimensional hologram suddenly appeared in mid-air above the table, lit up in a strange yellow light.

This was technology Daniel and Teal'c had seen in the past, but which was new to Colonel Mitchell. Cameron tried not to let his amazement show too much.

"This city is called Alden, and it is deep within the Ori rebellion's heartland. There, a tribunal of six regional commanders hold sway over the entire Ori army on this world. These men were once great generals in Lord Tel'mar's legions, renowned heroes worthy of benediction and reverence. Now they have fallen from grace, and must be eliminated."

Denamor reached back over towards the holographic-projection device, and pressed another button. The hologram picture zoomed in on one of the larger buildings in the display. It was towering over most of the other structures in the represented settlement, and had incredibly ornate carvings littering all its sides. "This is the High Temple of Tel'mar, where priests once offered up sacrifices to their one true god. Now, the rebels defile the great temple with their mere presence. They have slaughtered the noble priests and have turned the building into the command headquarters of the entire rebel forces. Your mission is simple – infiltrate the temple, kill all the senior commanders, and destroy the building. The Prior will most likely not be there, but if he is then you can take him out there. If not, gather information on his location and track him down. The Prior too must die."

"Do you know the way to Alden, Artan?" Teal'c asked in his customarily flat, calmed voice.

"I do, Teal'c. It was where I was stationed, before the rebellion swept through the region. I was blessed enough to have be here in the capital city, Menphal, when the city was occupied by the blasphemous enemies of Tel'mar," Artan said. There was something strange about the way he spoke, though – somewhere, there was a difference between the way Artan spoke of his Lord and his brethren, than the way Denamor did. There was no real blind, selfless obedience there. Artan came across to Cameron Mitchell not as a zealous fanatic, but rather as a professional soldier.

The Colonel still had every intention of watching Artan like a hawk throughout the entire mission, but there was something a little more assuring about the short Jaffa warrior than any other person Mitchell had met so far on this planet. He seemed to be the less… radical.

# SG1 #

The two Jaffa, Teal'c and Artan, seemed to have a somewhat hostile relationship between each other right from the every start, though they exchanged few words. It was just in the eyes, in the way that they constantly glared at each other. Cam Mitchell didn't like it.

He turned to Dr Jackson before the two of them, the last in a long line of combatants getting into a Goa'uld Al'Kesh medium-ranged bomber, and asked him, "Hey Daniel, what the hell's going on with T-Man and the Jaffa, Artan? Will they be a problem during this mission?"

"I honestly don't know. Jaffa have a strong moral code, as I'm sure you're no doubt well aware – if they feel slighted in any way by someone else, there could be some real personal issues, and you've got to keep in mind that for a lot of Jaffa still loyal to a Goa'uld Lord, Teal'c will forever be a sho'vah." Daniel shrugged his shoulders in a 'what-ya-gonna-do' kind of way, and then stepped into the Al'Kesh after Teal'c. Mitchell followed suit.

The large Goa'uld vessel – capable of interstellar travel through subspace, and able to pack a real punch with its weapons systems – sealed its door hatches, and then began to lift up off the ground. Within moments its rear thrusters burst into life, and the craft shot forward through the air, heading straight out and away from Tel'mar's fortress compound, over the capital city of the world, and towards the lands controlled by the followers of Origin.

SG-1 was about to make its insurgency into enemy territory…

# SG1 #

The door opened up again, and the two guardians with their staff weapons came down the staircase yet again, with a companion. Lt Colonel Samantha Carter was not prepared to see a Unas amongst her captors, dressed in somewhat luxurious finery – if on the dated side. The Unas waved a hand in dismissal at the two guards as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and they both immediately bowed and slipped back against the far wall of the dungeon.

The large, imposing creature stepped forward, right up to the bars of Sam's cell. She had met a number of his kind before, and was not about to be intimidated… "Who are you? What do you want? And where are my three friends?"

Smiling, the Unas spoke. "Your companions are fine, at least as far as I know. They are doing a simple task for me now. That is the reason why you've been captured. In fact, that is the reason why you weren't killed upon stepping through the Chapa'i and intruding upon my domain." The creature spoke in the deep, booming, power-laced voice of a Goa'uld – the Unas was a host. "I am Tel'mar, Lord of this world and many others. Please, come join me. You are welcomed at my dining hall. Such an attractive an eating companion, I have not enjoyed in many decades."

Carter looked at the somewhat hideous creature for a few long moments, thinking over what she had just been told, and weighing up the options that were available to her. There was little she could do, at least for the time being. Getting out of her holding cell however she could… that would definitely be one positive step in the right direction.

"I would be honoured," Samantha Carter said, forcing a slightly pained smile to her lips.

Tel'mar grinned back, and said through gritted teeth, "You lie, but soon enough, you will know the bliss of my love and affection, and will take a place of worship and devotion by my side as my new Queen. Willingly or not, you will serve me, Colonel Samantha Carter." Then the Unas' grin turned into a deep, leering smirk. "And if your companions manage to succeed in their mission, then you yourself will be the one that kills them!"

Sam felt sick in her guts. She didn't know what she could do, but she knew that it was her duty to try something to resist. The Unas suddenly withdrew a key from behind his back, and put it into the lock of her cell door. He turned the key, and opened the door. Carter scurried back on her feel, slipped and fell hard onto the ground, but kept on sliding back until her back slammed into the far wall.

Tel'mar approached her menacingly, smiling, his deep pitiless eyes fixated upon her. There was no-where for Sam to run. Nothing to do against the inevitable. No hope.

# SG1 #

"We're nearing the infiltration point! Remember what I told you!" Artan said to the other three in the rear compartment they were all in.

There was a larger section of the rear area of the Al'Kesh full of a squad of Tel'mar's warriors, prepared to disembark further forward inside Ori-follower territory to act as a diversionary force. The men were all saying their last benedictions to their Lord Tel'mar, because it was expected that every last one of the dozen men would be killed.

SG-1 and their Jaffa tag-along would be transported to the surface by an Asgard beaming device built into the rear of the Al'Kesh bomber. The bomber would continue on into the enemy's region, striking at major concentrations of men and weaponry if targets presented themselves, then the second, larger strike force would beam down onto the ground and cause diversionary chaos.

The plan sounded good enough – putting it into action, however, would surely prove much more difficult.

There was a shout from one of the warriors in the forward section of the vessel – the first team's time was _now_! All four men had at least one hand on a large, round device sticking up out of the floor of the Al'Kesh – the Asgard transport.

Artan shouted, "Now!" and then pressed a control button underneath the rounded protrusion. There were four bright, white flashes, and the four soldiers were beamed off the Al'Kesh bomber, straight down to the ground far below…

The bomber kept on zooming across the noonday sky, onwards towards enemy territory… and the dangers that awaited them. SG-1 would be going the rest of the way on foot.

Suddenly, before the team could assemble their gear together properly and move on towards their target, they heard the sound of heavy energy-weapons discharge from nearby. The hidden gun emplacement was quite close, actually – less than half a mile away.

The Al'Kesh didn't have a chance; its pilot never even saw the incoming weapons-fire. One discharged shot striking the rear of the mid-range bomber and the vessel was blown completely apart. The explosion lit up the somewhat gloomy sky, and fiery wreckage began to barrel on down towards the forest below. No one could have survived the attack.

It was not a very pleasant way for them to start the mission. The bomber escort that was supposed to blast its way through some of the heavier pockets of rebellion forces along their path, as well as the diversionary squad that were meant to give their lives in a distracting fire-fight on the ground, were destroyed in one fell swoop. And now, they would just have to make their way alone…


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

There were roving patrols of enemy troops throughout their immediate area, so the somewhat understrength SG-1 - with their unwanted tag-along Artan quickly keeping pace with the rest of them - moved quickly and silently through the trees and thick foliage, making their way along a parallel line to the main pathway that the Jaffa warrior promised would take them almost all the way to their destination.

Suddenly, Teal'c pulled up short and held out his right hand for stillness. The rest of the team stopped where they were, and stayed completely still. Nothing could be heard but the sound of wind rustling through the trees, and the various natural sounds of a forest alive with expectant vibrance and activity.

But there was something, deep down when they focused on the _unusual_ sounds amongst the normal clatter. Movement, off to the left of their position, further in amongst the trees and thick shrubs that dominated this forest. Every one of the makeshift team slowly, quietly swivelled around to face the direction in which the slight noise was coming from, bringing their weapons up to bear.

Artan had his automatic Goa'uld energy weapon mounted onto his right forearm, while the three men of SG-1 had either a MP-5 sub-machine gun or a P-90 assault rifle. They were all prepared to shoot their way out of the situation... but also knew that if they had to open fire, it would only alert all of the Ori forces within earshot to their presence.

Suddenly, a figure came out of the trees quite rapidly, dressed in a full-bodied cloak and holding a long, strangely distorted staff of some sort. Mitchell immediately thought that they were faced with a Prior of some kind, and raced forward with his P-90 levelled right at the person's mid-section.

He knew that if he fired that weapon and this indeed was a Prior, then there was little chance it would do any good and they were all probably as good as dead. But Cam wasn't about to give in, even in the face of hopeless opposition.

"Don't move!" the Colonel hissed, stepping right up to the figure. He looked at the hooded person's face, and saw that this was a young-looking man; without the pastey-white skin and proud, arrogant deamour of a Prior of the Ori. Just to be safe, though, Mitchell yanked the staff the man was holding right out of his grasp before he had a chance to struggle; though he seemed hardly bothered by the somewhat violent manner in which the Colonel releaved him of the long, wooden pole. "If you do anything stupid like try to call for help or run, you're dead - understand?"

The cloaked man hardly seemed fazed by the presence of the four armed men. He simply smiled, and reached up to pull back the hood that covered his face. Cam, Dr Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and Artan all tensed up, expecting some form of violent action or trick from the man.

There was none. He simply revealed himself to be a somewhat handsome-looking black haired man, with deep blue eyes and a distinguished, well-defined face. There was a burning light behind the eyes, though, that alarmed Lt Colonel Mitchell for some unknown reason.

"I do not mean you any harm, Colonel Mitchell, but I will defend myself if provided as would any noble servant of the gods," the young man said with a soft, harmonious voice. He glanced over at Dr Jackson. "Ah, Dr Daniel Jackson. Remarkable. You have shown us the light of existence as it truly is, and exposed the work of the harbingers of evil by revealing this galaxy to us. Our holy crusade will bring the divine harmony and benevolence of Origin to these dark worlds. Hallowed are the Ori."

"Is that what you think you bring to us with this invasion? Divinity? Benevolence? Don't you realize that your Priors and your Origin have brought nothing but suffering and chaos to this galaxy? Can't you _see_...?" Daniel countered angrily, raising his voice slightly louder than the others would have liked despite himself. "What do you want here? Besides slaughtering every single person that does not want to believe your religion?"

"Nothing, Dr Jackson. We spread enlightenment and wondrous knowledge beyond your wildest comprehension, and all that we seek in return is that you give yourselves over in supplicant worship to the Ori," the man continued on, undaunted.

"Umph, sorry buddy but I don't think we like what you're selling, so I guess we'll be on our way," Cam said to the man. He looked very much like a monk of some sort, perhaps a Prior-in-training or something of the sort. Mitchell shrugged his shoulders - it hardly mattered.

He knew that it wasn't right to kill the man, as he was unarmed and was covered by all four of their guns, but then again the Colonel also knew he couldn't leave the man conscious and just continue on to their objective. Cam turned to Artan.

"Stun him with a zat-gun." Artan reached down and pulled a zat'ni'katel out from its hip holster, then activated the weapon - which looked like a coiled serpent - by pressing a small button on its left side. He indeed understood the term 'zat-gun', though it was an alien connotation to the Jaffa warrior. "But leave him alive."

Artan did not agree with showing this enemy any clemency, but then he thought that the Tau'ri would hardly agree with him on this, so it wasn't worth voicing his opinion. They were a race of valiant fighters, yes, but they were also weak in some few key points in the art of warfare.

The Jaffa wondered if they would survive the coming conflict with the mighty Ori. Artan wondered in some darker moments if, indeed, any of them would live through the coming maelstrom, but he had more confidence in the Jaffa race and the Goa'uld Lords who had not yet fallen than he did the humans of Earth, with their morality and their compassion...

He pushed these thoughts aside with an angry grimace, aimed his weapon at the Ori follower, and fired. The energy burst shot out of the end of the weapon... and came into contact with some kind of force-field protection. None of the stunning bolt fired from the zat reached the monk figure.

The man then reached out with his right hand. The staff he had been relieved of shot right out of Colonel Mitchell's grasp and flew through the air, straight into the Ori follower's. The very tip of the staff glowed ominously with a dark, bluish-black light, and this end of the monk's pole was pointed right at the four of them!

Artan and Teal'c quickly split off from the other two, with the former First Prime of Apophis spraying the monk with a protracted burst of fire from his P-90 as he ran on ahead through the forest. The bullets simply hit the Ori worshiper's personal energy shield and ricocheted harmlessly away, doing no damage whatsoever except to the surrounding plant-life.

Cam and Daniel Jackson went the other way, to the left while their companions went to the right, and both men were blasting away at the monk with their own weaponry also with minimum results. The end of the foe's staff weapon fired, and a bolt of pure energy shot through the air towards Dr Jackson, striking the ground at his feet and sending him hurdling up into the air. He flopped end over end like a rag doll, and came crashing down into the foliage a number of feet away, still and completely unmoving.

"Oh no..." Cameron breathed softly to himself as he came crashing down onto the ground behind a nearby oak tree, looking over at Daniel lying sprawled out on his back right out in the open. The man had to be hurt, and there was little if anything the Lieutenant Colonel could think of that he could do.

This enemy he was facing had all the advantage in technology, Daniel was right out there in an open clearing within sight of their foe, and seemed pretty much unconscious from Cam's own vantage point or worse... but he had to do _SOMETHING_! Leaving a fallen comrade behind was not even an option, as far as the Airman was concerned.

Then the answer came from Teal'c, as they usually did in combat situations. The Jaffa warrior hurled a grenade onto the ground near the monk's feet while he was focused on trying to kill Daniel Jackson. The detonation came as a complete surprise to the man, and within such close proximity, having made it within the follower's personal shield by rolling into the protective cocoon the energy barrier provided, the devastation was lethal and horrific in its efficiency.

It was the energy shield that in the end contained the blast, and the grenade's explosion blew the monk of the Ori faith to pieces. At last, the shield failed because the tiny device on the monk's belt buckle that projected it was destroyed.

Teal'c and Artan came rushing over to Mitchell from another direction, to check on the Colonel and ensure that the Ori monk was indeed dead. Cam hurriedly bounded up onto his feet. "Good work there, guys," he said, "but Daniel's been hit. Come on let's go!"

They rushed over to where the doctor had landed, and saw that Daniel Jackson had indeed been knocked completely out by the impact back onto the ground, after being launched through the air by the concussive blast of the monk's weapon. It was just as Cam had feared. The SG-1 team leader glanced nervously around their immediate vicinity after he'd checked that Dr Jackson was unconscious, and suffering from no other visibile serious injuries, then looked to the two Jaffa.

"Come on, we have to get out of here right away," Cam said in a sharp, urgent whisper. "The sound of this fight as surely alerted nearby patrols. We're probably going to have some company very shortly, so I'd rather put as much distance between us and here as we can, as fast as we can."

"Agreed, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied. "We can move Daniel Jackson in his current state. I suggest we do so, and we make our departure straight away."

Artan nodded in silent agreement, and with that, the three of them, with an unconscious Daniel carried between Cam and Artan, started to make their way further on into the cluttered, twisting forest, hoping to elude the inevitable hunting parties dispatched on their trail. They hoped to rest at the earliest possible convenience to check on Dr Jackson and to rest, but this was a secondary concern to escape and evasion.

Their mission still lay ahead of them... in fact, it had hardly even begun.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

"So why did that Ori monk have a Goa'uld personal protective shield?" Lt Colonel Mitchell asked at last. They were a very long way from the position where they had fought and killed the enemy figure who had appeared as if from nowhere, and were resting up beside a little fresh-water creek. Cam was pouring ice-cold water fresh from the creek over Daniel Jackson's face from his canteen - the archaeologist was slowly coming around from being knocked unconscious during the firefight. Daniel was lying spread out on his back beside the creek, while Cam and the two Jaffa, Teal'c and Artan, moved around the place, each one on constant lookout for any sign of potential danger.

"Indeed, I was contemplating that very question Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied with a puzzled frown. He leaned back on the heels of his feet and stared up into the sky above in reflective silence. Finally, he spoke, "The only possible explanation is that the Ori have turned some of the senior-most leadership of the Goa'uld on this world, and they are helping the Prior and his followers in their rebellion against Tel'mar."

Cam looked over at Daniel, who was slowly beginning to roll over onto his side and push himself up into a sitting position. He shook his head from side to side, then rubbed his eyes and glanced cautiously around at his new surroundings. "Arrggh, my head really hurts... God, what happened? What did I miss?"

"A heck of a fight, huh Jackson?" Lt Colonel Mitchell asked with off-handed humor, though he was greatly relieved on the inside that Daniel was alright and getting back to himself again. "We had to take turns carrying your sorry butt across miles of this blasted planet. But, you're welcome... glad to have you back."

After giving Dr Jackson a hearty pat on the back, Cameron Mitchell turned sharply to look back at Artan, the one member of their new makeshift team that knew more about this current conflict with the followers of Origin here on this world than any of them did. "Artan, are there any Goa'uld helping this Prior that we have to deal with? Why weren't we told about this going in?"

"Denamor didn't believe that it was vital to tell you of this," Artan replied after a long moment, "and he swore me to utter secrecy. We don't exactly know how many of the Goa'uld of Tel'mar's aristocracy have turned from their god and embraced the Ori - it is hard to say who defected and who were killed in the bitter fighting. But we do know that, yes, some of the high caste of this world betrayed their Lord and have taken up the struggle of our enemies."

Cam cringed and Daniel, who had only caught some of the conversation after emerging from his unconscious stupor, had understood enough to be pretty concerned as well. This might very well turn their already bad situation into something much worse. Teal'c, ever the stoic warrior of fame and begrudging respect across the galaxy, gave away little sign of outward emotion.

"Okay, well let's put that behind us," Daniel said slowly, still trying to shake the last of the cobwebs from out of his head. He rubbed the back of his skull ruefully, feeling the swelling lump of an egg-shaped bruise coming up already. Damn this. "What else is there that Denamor, in his wisdom, decided to leave out about the Ori forces?"

"Nothing, Colonel Mitchell... at least, nothing I know about," the Jaffa replied meekly. Then he sighed, and looked around at the nearby trees and shrubbery. "They will be expecting me to report in any moment now. What do I tell Denamor and the others back at the fortress?"

The three members of SG-1 looked across at each other. They each knew in their hearts that they had little choice.

"Tell Denamor we'll proceed ahead as planned," Cameron replied softly. "He'll have his damn victory, once we're through."

# SG1 #

Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter had been captured before by the Goa'uld, and had the unfortunate experience of torture and imprisonment at the hands of those insidious alien symbiotes. But this Lord, Tel'mar, seemed far less vicious and uncompromising - he almost seemed warm, friendly, and amicable to her requests.

She wasn't quite sure how long it was since the other members of SG-1 had left and she had been alone in her cell, but at last people had come to collect Sam and take her from the dungeon. There were two of them, and they were armed with zat-guns which they wore on their belts - but they were a couple of attractive young women, and they wore their dark hair long; one of them, the lady to the left, wore her dark brown hair down around her shoulders, the other wore her black hair down longer still to near the middle of her back.

When the first woman spoke at last, she had the low, deep timbre of a Goa'uld, and Sam knew instantly that the other girl by her side was of the same kin also. "You have been invited to dine with Lord Tel'mar this evening, as his honored guest. We will take you now to the quarters he has had prepared for you for the duration of your stay. My name is Kiana, and my companion is Lyan. We will be your guardians around the fortress. You are welcome to move around any part of the compound and the fortifications that you wish except for Tel'mar's private wing, but we will be required to accompany you at all times."

Kiana was the brunette; her Goa'uld cohort, the raven-haired beauty, was Lyan. Sam Carter smiled and nodded her thanks. It was good enough to be out of her cell. She was up and about, and was able to travel about the place, though with the limitations imposed on her and the two Goa'uld 'shadows'. Not too bad... and, if the opportunity presented itself, Sam was quite prepared to act against these two female warders.

The room they led her to was up near the top of the southwestern tower battlements, and was decorated in such opulent splendour that it took the fighting astrophysicist's breath away. Satin-silk bedspreads, exquisite tapestries, paintings of incredible splendour, as well as gold and jewel-encrusted ornamentation - the private bed-chamber Sam Carter was ushered into was truly an elaborate display of wealth and power.

The Colonel was revolted that this was all nothing more than the trinkets of a Goa'uld Lord happily oppressing an entire planet's population, for nothing more than his own personal desire for domination and conquest... and yet, she could not help but find a part of herself swept up in the sheer majesty of the room.

"We will be outside if you need us, Samantha Carter. Please, make yourself at home," Kiana said, bowing her head slightly and turning on her feet to stride purposefully out of the room. Lyan bowed as well, but not as low as her companion, and there was a sense of flashing hostility that passed for a moment across her eyes that Carter noted with concern. Then she too left the room, closing the door to the chamber shut behind her.

This left Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter alone in the large, wide-open room; left to ponder her next course of action. And it also gave her some time to reflect with concern upon the fate of the rest of her team, SG-1. They were out there somewhere, no doubt right in the thick of the danger, risking their lives in order to secure her freedom and their escape from this world.

Sam knew that there was little she could do to help them, but she did know there was an opportunity here to do some good... if only she could seize the moment, when it came.

# SG1 #

_The outskirts of Sector 279, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Colonel Paul Emerson sat back in his large, comfortable leather chair, in the centre of the bridge's control deck onboard the second _Daedalus_-class battle-cruiser, the _USS Odyssey_. The commander of an interstellar space-craft... it was something so far-fetched to the 43-year-old seasoned military man that he found himself wondering if this was some sort of elaborate, incredible dream. Everything just seemed too unbelievable to be real.

But this was reality, and Emerson was responsible for over a hundred men and women who looked to him for leadership, guidance and expertise. He had to show them that this was his ship, that he was ready for the responsibily of command, and that this was not nearly as overwhelming as it truly was deep down inside.

"Sir, I'm picking up a priority message from Stargate Command," Major Marks, the _Odyssey's_ communications officer and former crew-member of the ill-fated predecessor to the _Daedalus_-type vessels, the _Prometheus_, said with smooth, clipped precision.

"Patch it through, Major," Paul replied, standing up and stepping down from his podium near the centre of the bridge, to stride straight over to the impressive, heavily reinforced viewscreen that looked out into the vast espanse of space ahead of their ship. He stood there looking out into the wide spread of glittering stars and black oblivion, waiting for the Major to patch the communications from Earth through their own speaker system on the bridge.

Thanks to a deep-space communications bouy floating somewhere out in space, far back in their wake almost a hundred thousand miles behind them, the _Odyssey_ was able to establish a near-instantaneous audio linkup with Earth.

"Colonel Emerson, this is General Landry here at the SGC," a loud, commanding voice said over the slightly crackling comms-link. Even without the introduction, Paul Emerson would have recognized the distinct voice of the new head of Stargate Command. Hank Landry was one superior officer Paul would not soon forget – a tough enough bastard to deal with, but one you wanted watching your back in a tight situation. "I think we have a situation here that will require your assistance."

"How can we help, General?" the Colonel replied without hesitation. This wasn't just a run-of-the-mill check-in – it was unscheduled, and difficult enough to establish as things were.

Although they had already just completed a scouting mission on the Lucian Alliance, Paul's people were still capable of performing their duties to the exacting standards their service expected from them. If General Landry needed them to help resolve a crisis somewhere out in the depths of space, then the crew of the _Odyssey _would rise up to meet this new challenge.

It took Hank Landry only a couple of minutes to fill Emerson in on all the information the SGC had on the situation on the planet PJ3-176, but just as the General did, Paul came to the conclusion that something was not right with SG-1 on this world. Cam was obviously in no position to tell them the real truth of the situation, so Emerson and the rest of his people would have to proceed onwards with extreme caution.

"Look Paul, be careful out there, alright? No unnecessary risks." Landry's tough, gravelly voice softened somewhat, as he continued, "Just get our people out of there safely, and bring everyone back home alive."

"Yes sir!" the US Air Force commander said with rigid determination. "By our estimates-" Emerson was handed a clipboard of stats information from one of his officers, on which all the relevant information was displayed "-we should come out of hyperspace above the planet inside of eight hours. We should hopefully have SG-1 located and extracted inside of twenty-four hours. If we encounter anything unexpected, or have not located the team by this deadline, we will try to contact you again. When we do find them and bring them aboard, we'll make sure to pass this along as well, as soon as we can."

"Thank-you, Colonel," Landry said at last. "And good luck!"


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_Planet PJ3-176,_

_Milky Way Galaxy._

Strangely enough, the second meeting between Lt Colonel Samantha Carter and her captor, the Goa'uld Lord Tel'mar, was something akin to pleasant, though the host body still made Sam cringe instinctively, despite her own experiences with the 'learnered' and civilized Unas, Chaka. It was just hard to get over the creature's outward appearance, resembling that of a demonic nightmare being more than anything else... and knowing that the visibly disturbing host body housed the even more repugnant Goa'uld symbiote still made it all, well, _unsettling_.

"Colonel Samantha Carter, this is indeed a true honour! Please, sit, sit!" the Goa'uld ruler said amicably, indicating a positon at the long table stacked with a wide variety of delicacies. It was near the head of the table, right by his own position in fact, and Carter took her seat with a slight sense of trepidation. "I must say, I can hardly contain my own amazement at having such a noble, valiant warrior of such wide renown, sharing a meal with me, a simple governor of an unimportant back-water planet."

Carter cringed slightly at the praise, especially considering where it was coming from. She knew the fundamental differences between the Tok'ra and the Goa'uld – and also knew that there was little chance whatsoever that this flattering, silver-tongued leader meant anything that he said.

The Goa'uld were egotistical, manical dictators, who ruled over their people with ruthless impunity, waged war with an utter disregard for human or Jaffa lives, and sometimes even bought into their own propaganda and considered themselves gods. If Tel'mar was trying to play down his own level of power and influence, then there had to be a reason for it.

She also couldn't help but feel self-conscious about the dress she had selected for the evening meal. Most all of the clothing left for her in the closet of her room were too overbearing for Sam's personal tastes, and were also far too revealing and enhancing. But then, they were not her choices, and after the hot bath in various flavoured incenses that had been prepared for her, Carter hardly felt like slipping back into her dirty military fatigues again. She had picked out the least risque dress in the cupboard... but still, the Lt Colonel felt far too exposed than she would have liked. Almost on display for the Goa'uld Lord sitting beside her.

"What is happening with the rest of my team? Where are they? What have you got them doing for you, Tel'mar?" Carter demanded, looking squarely at the possessed Unas as he reached down to scoop up a large chunk of pork roast.

The creature tore into the meat and chewed it for a long moment before swallowing, then looked across at the Colonel at last, favouring her with a inquisitive look before at last finding the words to answer her question.

"I have sent them on a mission," he replied in a dull, disinterested voice, "the specifics of which do not concern you. Be at ease, Samantha, they will return, and I will honour my end of the bargain by letting you all go free... _if _that is what you wish."

There was something in the way Tel'mar spoke this last remark that chilled Carter to the core. He was going to _HONOR_ the bargain now? Somehow, she did not think this was true.

Sitting back and watching Tel'mar continue to eat his food, the Colonel pondered her own situation, and wondered how she could now use the Goa'uld's seemingly warm hospitality now to her own advantage.

"So what am I to you now, a bargaining chip or a guest?" Carter asked. "And if I am a guest, why are you treating me like a prisoner with these guards following me everywhere I go?"

"Colonel Carter, please do not insult me with such questioning," the Goa'uld answered with a small, incisive smirk, baring his teeth to the blonde-haired woman as he reached out for another serving of food. "You are treated better than most of the people on this planet right now, who are suffering from an unjust war against the followers of the Ori... our shared enemies, Samantha. Your presence here on my planet was perfect, and I took swift action to take advantage of this situation. Now, please, eat my food and enjoy my hospitality. It can be extrmely pleasant. Or, as you already had a taste of before down in the dungeon, it can be quite unpleasant."

Then, a silence fell down over the table, and Carter turned her attention to the bowls of various types of food spread out before her. She began to fill her own plate with all different kinds of scrumptuous-looking foodstuff, piling it high as she realised that it had been many many hours since she had eaten a good, solid meal.

The conversation with the Goa'uld ruler was, for the moment, over, and Sam was very glad for this small mercy. She didn't know where she stood with this creature... but one thing was for sure. There was no way Carter, or any of them for that matter, could trust the word of this creature. He had spent centuries dominating this world and its people... and his race, the Goa'uld, were most certainly not known for their honour or integrity.

# SG1 #

They travelled long and hard, moving mostly under the cover of darkness. Artan checked in with his command every twelve hours without fail, and the team covered a great deal of distance quickly. At times though, they had to come to rest, to relieve the call of nature whenever necessary, and to take on food and water.

Meals ready to Eat – or MREs for short – were the 'delicacy' of choice, and they all cringed at the horrific taste of the food but stomached it anyway because it was the only option open to them. The pre-wrapped, ready-to-go meals from military-contractors back on Earth hardly cared for taste or appeal, only for the health, vitality and increased combat effectiveness of America's front-line troops.

Teal'c was the one who first heard the sound of approaching footsteps, through the thicket of trees off to their immediate left. The team was nestled in a naturally-forming gully in a small, open clearing – there was little chance that they could break cover and make a dash for any of the nearby trees or shrubs. He briefed them quietly on the situation.

"There are about half a dozen of them," the Jaffa warrior said softly. "About twenty yards away. They're armed with staff weapons, and I believe one or two are carrying zat'ni'katels. These could very well be followers of the Ori."

"I think that's pretty likely, considering how deep we are inside their territory," Daniel whispered. "Right, Artan?"

"Yes, Dr Jackson. Lord Tel'mar has no loyalist forces making ground against our enemies at this time... except for ourselves, of course."

Cam Mitchell bit back on his tongue. He was going to challenge the Jaffa on the use of the word 'loyalists', at least when concerned with SG-1 – none of them wanted anything to do with this fight. Killing a Prior of the Ori and helping a Goa'uld crush a rebellion; now that was a fight they would rather stay out of, if they could, and hope that both sides destroyed each other in the mayhem. But alas, that was not to be.

"What are they doing now, Teal'c?" the Colonel inquired finally, carefully maneuvering himself around in their makeshift foxhole, rolling bodily over Artan and Daniel who were crouching down as low as they could into the dirt and coming to a hard stop down beside the dark-skinned Jaffa.

"It seems they are performing a search of the surrounding forest, Colonel Mitchell," the warrior said softly, his eyes narrowing in something akin to concern for the old veteran. "No doubt, they are searching for any sign of our presence. I do not know if they are part of a larger patrol, or if they are the only ones in their group."

There was a long, protracted pause, as Colonel Mitchell took in the scene up over the edge of their gully and saw the shadowy figures moving amongst the trees out in front of him. He counted each and every one of the dark shapes that moved about he could see – seven of them in total. Cam dropped back down beside Teal'c and the others in the ditch, rolled over onto his back with the others, and assessed their options.

They were all spaced out in an obvious search pattern – it would be hard to take them all out fast enough, if not impossible, and then there was a real possibility that they could very well be bringing a greater number of enemies down upon them if the team was able to take them all down. The gunfire would not go unnoticed, if there were other enemies within earshot of the battle – they could in all likelihood alert them to the team's location, which was something they all would rather avoid doing if possible.

But there was aslo a big chance that they would be discovered in their gully if the team stayed where they were and did nothing. The search party was moving with organized purpose through the trees and shrubbery towards their small clearing; the ditch in the ground near the centre of the space in the forest was impossible to miss. No, there was no way they could stay where they were and do nothing, because they would be discovered in any event.

It was Teal'c, again, who spoke up.

"Colonel Mitchell, let me run a diversion for you." The look on the experienced Jaffa's face was utterly expressionless, yet his eyes burned with the intensity of righteous passion and confidence. "I will draw the enemy force away from here, while the three of you can slip out of this ditch and follow us in pursuit. I will do my best to take out as many of them as I can, and the rest of you, I trust, will assist once you are out of the clearing and able to follow."

Daniel quickly spoke up, before Cam could get a word in; but he basically said what the Lt Colonel was about to say himself. "No way, Teal'c," the archaeologist said with a firm, determined voice. "You can't just take all the risk like that. You'll be out there on your own, and they'll be coming right after you hard and fast. Plus, we have no idea how many other enemies are out there. You could be cut off and slaughtered before you get more than a hundred yards away!"

"Indeed I could, Daniel Jackson, but there is no other alternative," Teal'c said solemnly. "To stay where we are now will only mean they will discover us, eventually. We might be able to fight our way out from this position, but I believe we are more likely to survive if we take them on right now, and I am able to lead them away quickly enough for the rest of you to come in after us, eliminating the enemies that I have not yet been able to neutralize myself."

There was little point in arguing with Teal'c's logic – because it made sound tactical sense. There was really nobody else as suited to such a dangerous solo mission as Teal'c was.

He was by far the best fighter Cam had ever seen, in close quarters. Brutally effective and highly motivated, the Jaffa warrior had an inner strength and perserverance that had made him a highly capable member of SG-1 for nine years. He had established the Jaffa rebellion, witnessed the fall of the mighty Goa'uld empires that spanned much of this galaxy, and seen to the creation of a galaxy-wide government for his people.

This one act he was ready to perform was, when weighed against such incredible achievements, already a foregone conclusion.

"Okay then, we'll do this the way you say," Mitchell agreed at last. He looked across at Daniel and could see that the Doctor was mad – he wanted to go out there and risk his life alongside his good friend, but that wasn't the wisest plan and in his heart, Jackson knew it too. Teal'c would be faster and more lethal on his own. "Good luck, buddy. We're right behind you."

This was a fight that none of them wanted – but there was no other way around it. The patrol was almost upon them and the team had to act fast to deal with the threat. Teal'c, with a slightly straining grunt as he vaulted up over the ridge then raced off into the trees towards the nearest enemy, moved with the speed and agility of a born warrior.

# SG1 #

The first Jaffa, a youthful follower of the Ori barely old enough to be considered a warrior of his people, hardly stood a chance. A quick knife-slash across the throat and the warrior dropped to the grass, spilling his lifeblood out across the ground in front of him as he fell to his knees, then slumped forward on his face. The skilled fighter didn't even pause in his long, determined strides as he moved on past the first enemy he had killed.

After the initial assault, Teal'c immediately shifted his focus onto his next targets. There were two more armed Jaffa nearby, within firing range, and they were bringing their staff weapons quickly around to fire upon him.

It was all in slow motion though, from his prespective. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and his muscles flexed and bulged with exertion. Teal'c was just that little bit faster than the two opponents opposite him, and he loosed off a long volley of bullets at the two Jaffa, cutting them both down in a vicious torrent of high-velocity rounds that sliced their bodies open and hurled their corpses back into the shrubs behind them.

The gunfire though galvanised the others into action. Staff weapon bolts and strings of dark-blue zat-fire shot out at him from all directions, as the Ori troopers around him immediately brought their firepower down upon him. There were at least four more enemies out there, Teal'c knew.

He could see a couple of shadowy figures moving from cover to cover, trying to get a better shot at him from behind some kind of barrier. The Jaffa warrior knew he had to keep moving – stay still for too loing, and he was as good as dead as things stood now.

Teal'c only hoped that the Colonel, Dr Jackson, and even the Jaffa Artan were following him... and that there weren't any more nasty surprises waiting for him, further on along his path through the forest up ahead.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Mitchell led the way up over the lipse of the trench and into the forest, after Teal'c and the remaining Jaffa that were pursuing him. His assault rifle raised and ready to fire, the Lieutenant Colonel made haste after the dark, shadowy figures up ahead, trying his best to get a good line on the nearest enemy so he could take him down from a distance. This wasn't going to be a fair fight, so long as Cam could help it.

In warfare, surprise and brutal action were the mainstays of victory, and the American Air Force officer sure as hell didn't want to die on some godforsaken planet hundreds of thousands of lightyears from Earth because he hesitated to act, for whatever reason.

Daniel Jackson was right behind him, and Artan was on the heels of the good Doctor. The two men broke off after a while, and sped up so they were in a three-pointed triangular advance.

Then, Teal'c turned to fight his enemies. The sound of energy bolts crackling through the air and exploding all around the place ripped through the air, as well as the unmistakable discharge of Teal'c's own weapon as he blasted away at the Jaffa chasing him.

Cam sighted one of the enemy Jaffa falling back towards his own position, firing away into the distance with his activated staff weapon. The warrior's full concentration was on trying to hit Teal'c – he did not see the Colonel waiting in the high bushes further back, raising his P-90 up to a firing position up against his shoulder, taking aim down the length of his sights...

A short squeeze of the trigger, and the Jaffa went careening back off his feet, hit full in the chest by the burst of bullets fired from Mitchell's weapon. The man was most likely dead – few if any Jaffa would have survived such punishment, as the warrior's larval symbiote was in all likelihood ripped apart by the rounds that had torn through his stomach and upper chest. If he had not been killed outright, then the death of his symbiote would mean the Jaffa was not long from his own demise – without regular doses of the drug tretonin, no Jaffa could survive the death or removal of his symbiote for very long.

Rising up from his crouched position, Mitchell raced forward past the dead foe's body, moving on through the trees and shrubs all around him to make his way towards Teal'c, where the sounds of fighting were now the heaviest. The other two men, to his left and right, kept pace with the soldier, and were ready and able to lend support to him when Cam needed their help.

Suddenly, a larger, grassy clearing opened out before him. Cam came bounding out into the open, and saw immediately where Teal'c and his three remaining opponents were positioned.

Teal'c, his broad, straining frame bent over the edge of a large rock-boulder as he sprayed the enemy position with a long burst of concentrated weapons-fire from his MP-5, was over on the other end of the clearing, near a number of large jagged rocks that would be perfect to seek cover behind. He was in an excellent position for defense, and Cam knew immediately that was no accident.

The three remaining Jaffa warriors, dressed in the loose, dark blue tunics they had seen all the other followers of Origin dressed in, were taking shelter behind one large granite slab near Cam's own position. Two of the figures were armed with zat-guns – the third, this one larger than his two companions, clutched a staff weapon tightly to his chest.

Colonel Mitchell looked across at Daniel, and made a few curt, concise military signals with his left hand, which he raised for a brief moment away from his weapon. Dr Jackson took in the signals with the sharp, professional eye of a natural fighter, and nodded once. He understood Cam's message. Being with Stargate Command on their flagship team, SG-1, had given Daniel more than enough experience of combat to know what Mitchell was saying.

They both moved forward cautiously, Daniel slowly moving across to the right of the granite slab, Cam keeping straight and steady, heading right towards the three armed enemies. He wondered if they would see him before he acted, or if the element of surprise would stay with Cam's team right to the very end. Sweat was pouring down the sides of his face, and his palms were wet with perspiration. This was it, the last tense moment before action. Steady, stay calm, and get ready to do your job...

He was confident that they were both right about where they had to be. Teal'c could not see what was happening behind the granite boulder, but he had stopped firing his weapon at the solid slab anyway. The three Jaffa taking shelter behind it were huddled together and talking softly amongst themselves. They didn't know that more of their enemies were so close by, about to slaughter them where they were.

_Ready... now!_ Cam squeezed the trigger down on his weapon, letting off a protracted burst of gunfire into the three Jaffa as they sat crouched behind their cover. Daniel Jackson immediately joined in from his position, holding down on the trigger of his own automatic weapon as he swept over the Jaffa, pounding them with high-velocity rounds from his own vantage point off to the side.

One of the warriors, the the big Jaffa in the middle with the staff weapon, had seen Mitchell approaching out of the corner of his eye and had turned to face him, but that hopeless act had come far too late. He had barely managed to bring his staff weapon around halfway before Cam shot him through with more than a dozen bullets.

The bullets tore through the men's bodies and drove them all back against the hard granite slab behind them. Blood splattered out of their mortal wounds and poured out across the ground all around the place. Their torn, ragged bodies slumped lifelessly to the ground, in a tangled, bloody heap.

"Clear!" Mitchell shouted out. "Teal'c, are you alright?"

There was a long moment's silence, and then the large, imposing Jaffa fighter walked around the side of the granite slab and approached his companions, a slight smile of appreciation creasing his lips. "Indeed," Teal'c replied, bowing his head slightly to the Lt Colonel in thanks. "I am in your debt."

"Come on, it was nothing," Cam said with a smile of satisfaction. Artan moved up to join the others, a look of begrudging respect plastered across his face. Mitchell turned too look at the Jaffa. Daniel Jackson looked down on the bodies of the three Jaffa the two of them had just killed, and cringed slightly. Although he had taken lives many times in the past, Dr Jackson had absolutely no love for it. Killing was a last resort for him. There had been no choice here, but still that didn't make the sinking feeling of disgust that gripped him any less intense.

"We should keep moving," Teal'c said quickly. "When this patrol does not check in, it will no doubt raise suspicion and the alert will go out here, as well. We cannot afford to keep running into Ori followers along our journey. Hopefully the rest of the mission will be uneventful."

Not one of them thought this would be the case, though, however they all remained silent, holding their own personal fears inside as the team gathered together and then started moving out again into the deeper recesses of the forest. Daniel took up the lead, his head slouched down against the strong wind that had suddenly picked up, blowing through the trees all around them with unusual intensity.

They had to keep moving – there was still a target to reach, and Ori leaders to kill. Somewhere along the line, as well, there was the Prior of the Ori to contend with. Cam Mitchell could feel the heavy weight of the 'anti-Prior gun' in his backpack, and grunted with exertion with having to carry such a heavy kit for such long distances. However, he wouldn't have anybody else take his burden – it took a capable, competent leader to bear that heavy weight and go the extra mile necessary...

But he did hope privately that they encountered the Prior soon. Walking into the unknown was difficult enough, but it was expecially tense when they knew that there was such a powerful, imposing enemy somewhere up ahead of them.

# SG1 #

_In hyperspace near PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

The _Odyssey's _primary security teams were gathered near the main Asgard teleport positions, right in the centre of the battle-cruiser, and the men and women of the Special Forces units were making last-minute checks of their weaponry and equipment. Colonel Emerson stood off to the side of the group of thirty-four, watching as they each quietly and confidently went about their business. Like the rest of the crew of the intersteller space-craft, the Spec Ops troops under Paul Emerson's command were the very best of the best.

He did not know exactly what to expect once their vessel emerged from hyperspace over the planet, but Emerson did know that an extraction, possibly under enemy fire, was a possible scenario. It was good to be prepared for that eventuality – which was why the commandos were all on standy-by here in the transport room.

The ranking officer in the strike force that was preparing to disembark, Major Frank Conner, came striding over to Colonel Emerson, sliding a magazine of bullets into his P-90 assault rifle and checking that a bullet had slid into the breech as he went. He gave Paul a slight, crooked smile, and nodded his head to his superior.

"We're about ready here, sir," Conner said with assured self-confidence. "Whatever's going on down on the planet's surface, we can handle it, and we'll get SG-1 out of there safely."

Emerson admired the soldier's confidence, and did not doubt the capablity or professionalism of the troops gathered together in this large room, but he would prefer not to have to put boots on the ground if he could avoid it. There were just too many unknowns to deal with on the world they were heading to – he didn't want the rescue team to get bogged down in whatever mess SG-1 was in trying to save them, but that could very well happen if they weren't too careful.

"That's good, Major. I'll radio through the 'go' order, if the situation warrants," Paul stated, then turned on his feet and strode off towards the bridge. "Be ready to move out on my order."

The weight of command in the tough situations such as this was what Emerson sometimes dreaded – but he knew he could handle it, because that was why he was given such a vital post in the first place. Paul had to calm himself, assess things as they came in with instant clarity and decisiveness, and then make a choice.

In the end it was down to him, and him alone, to make the judgement call. He had to try his very best to get SG-1 out of harm's way, but the Colonel's first duty was to the men and women under his command.

Colonel Emerson stepped onto the bridge and strode purposefully over to his command chair, in the centre of the control room. Sitting down in it, he looked across at Major Marks. The young-looking Air Force officer glanced up at his CO, and said curtly, "One minute until reentry into realspace."

"Very well then," the Colonel replied in a levelled, passive tone. "Ready all forward railgun positions. Ensure that all primary Mark-8 missile silos are prepped to launch on my command."

The orders were carried out with smooth, professional calmness; everybody on the bridge knew their own individual jobs, and went about making sure their own areas of responsibility were properly organized and ready to go. Emerson didn't quite know what kind of reception they could expect coming out of hyperspace over this planet, so he wanted the _Odyssey_ to be ready for a fight if need be.

# SG1 #

_Stargate Command, Earth,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

By Colonel Emerson's own reckoning, the _Odyssey_ should be over the planet, or near enough to it, at that moment. General Hank Landry, sitting in his office behind his desk, alone with his own thoughts, swore for the millionth time in anger and frustration. It made him almost ache physically, not knowing what was going on in situations such as this.

He was a commander, but more often than not Hank had to reply on the men and women under him carrying out his orders as best they could. In dangerous circumstances, this was heart-wrenching for Landry. He couldn't do anything more than sit back and hope all his people came back alive...

It was an even more poniant feeling for him since taking over Jack O'Neill's position as the commanding officer at Stargate Command.

Hank knew how Jack O'Neill was – he was a hands-on kind of man, who would rather shoulder all the risks and burdens he could, whenever he could, just to lessen the danger to those around him – and found it pretty hard to see the guy stuck behind a desk all the time, filling out paperwork and keeping the bean-counters satisfied. He knew, however, that even O'Neill was like that by the end of his own tenure, reduced by the job to a figurehead and an automaton to the bureaucracy.

Although he couldn't have a direct influence on off-world activities and missions, Hank Landry did know that he had taken over one of the most professional, elite military institutions in the US military, and that every single person under his command would do their very best to bring their comrades home.

The General had to trust in others... still, he couldn't stop the torrent of worst-case scenarios that kept rushing through his head, all of their own accord. Trying to force them out of his mind only brought them to the forefront with all the more clarity. Hank felt as though he was going to scream out loud in frustration. He had to bite down on his lower lip to fight the urge to do so.

Soon enough, SG-1 would be safely aboard the _Odyssey_ and the SGC would get the good news transmitted to them over long-range communications. Then this crisis would be resolved, and they could move along, until the next one came along.

Landry kept telling himself that, over and over again. The tension didn't leave his body, though. And his vivid, fertile imagination kept on churning out doomsday scenarios for Hank to stew over in his own private hell.

_Damnit, SG-1! Why is there always some crisis or emergency situation with you people? It hardly ever ends!_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Samantha Carter had been vigilant in her observations of the two women who were, for all intents and purposes, her new warders in this more comfortable, illustriously-decorated prison cell... which was lucky for her, as she was able to pick up on the sudden change in the moods of the Goa'uld.

They were agitated, that was for sure, though about what Sam couldn't tell. She stayed in her room and didn't try to show her overt interest in Lyan and Kiana, but Sam leaned in close against the closed door and listened hard through the gap in the doorway, trying to make out something in their private, whispered conversations that could hold some insight into what had them spooked.

As she listened with strained concentration to the two low voices in the hallway outside, Carter heard bits and pieces of their conversation in the Goa'uld dialect. She made out a couple of key words – 'Tau'ri', she knew meant the original humans, from her own homeworld Earth; and the Goa'uld words for 'orbit', 'space-craft' and 'communications'.

From these little snippets of the converation, Colonel Sam Carter made a couple of educated guesses. She had little else to go on, but she figured with a good level of certainty that there was some kind of message coming through from a vessel out in space – probably the _Odyssey_, searching for SG-1 as the team had been far past their deadline in checking in with Stargate Command by quite some time, as far as Sam could gather.

With nothing else to go on, Carter pondered her situation and decided, after only a moment's thought, that it was time to act.

"Kiana! Can I take a tour of the grounds? I've seen the gardens from the battlements out to the east, and they look wonderful. Is it alright?" Sam asked, shouting through the door without opening it.

There was a long pause. Colonel Carter could imagine the two women, discussing the arrangement with one another. Sam knew how things were done already, as she had taken a couple of tours around the fortress since her transfer already. Standing out in the centre of the chamber, with her hands out in front of her in as non-threatening a stance as possible, Carter waited for the door to open, and her two 'guardians' to step through with wary, cautious motions.

The Lieutenant Colonel's eyes were fixated on the nearest warder, which was always Kiana, and watched as she checked out the situation and, with a forced smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, beckoned her forward. She planned on taking Kiana out first. She wouldn't be the hard one to deal with, though.

It was Lyan, the silent broody professional, Sam knew she'd have to be real careful of. Lyan was the one who always had her hand resting on the butt of her zat-gun. She was the one who was always taunt, ready for immediate action. It was almost as though she was disappointed every time they had returned with Carter back to her quarters in the past, without incident.

When she passed the Goa'uld Kiana on her way out the door, Sam suddenly sprung into action, tensing up and spinning around on the heels of her feet to send a brutal punch barrelling into the woman's chest. As Kiana staggered back from the vicious impact of the blow, Carter's left leg flew out to catch Lyan a high hit to the side of her face, even as she was turning her body away from the incoming snap-kick. Lyan was sent careening back against the far wall, temporarily out of the fight... leaving Sam to deal with Kiana before she was able to mount any proper counterattack.

The second and third blows were a couple of sharp left and right punches to Kiana's head, then there was a beautiful, final uppercut to her chin, that sent the Goa'uld warrioress flying back off her feet to crash with an almighty thud onto the ground by the door. Sam rushed forward to snatch her zat'ni'katel up out of her belt, then turned straight onto Lyan.

The other woman was actually starting to come to, and bring her own zat-gun up to bear. Sam could hardly believe it, but she was ready to fire, and did so without hesitation. One stunning shot resonated through Lyan's body, but the Goa'uld persisted, and tried desperately to keep her gun steady before succumbing to the weapon's energy-bolt. Carter was forced to fire a second time, and this immediately killed Lyan; her corpse dropped back against the far wall and stayed there.

Sam wondered for a few moments if she should shoot Lyan a third time, which would disintegrate her body and leave absolutely no disternable trace, but then thought it was hardly worth it. She quickly searched both women for anything of value to her escape, and came up with a set of keys on Kiana that Sam was sure would come in handy somewhere along the line.

Then she raced off through the open doorway, and down the hall, towards the staircase that wound downwards deeper into the twisting, turning catacombs of the lower section of this fortress.

What counted now above anything was speed, stealth, and decisiveness. Sam knew she was still in for a tough road ahead, but somehow, she had to make contact with whoever had the Goa'uld so spooked, and get some much-needed assistance in getting out of this mess.

# SG1 #

The city of Alden was... well, to put it bluntly, immense. Cam Mitchell had never seen another place quite like it. He supposed that there had been settlements like this back on Earth, sometime in the distant past – settlements on the Mediterranean, or back in Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. But Cam had never seen such a metropolitan paradise before.

There were trees everywhere, and sprawling gardens that stretched all around the city's grand sprawl. Houses of all shapes, sizes and complements littered the area. There were walled conclaves and terraced apartment buildings, bazaars where the people congregated to barter and trade, and courtyards were the affluent came to gossip and make connections with their peers. In all, it was a remarkable place indeed.

Moving cautiously through the back streets and small alleyways of Alden, the makeshift SG-1 team, with Altan in the lead, made their way towards the High Temple of Tel'mar, which was near the very heart of the city. Thanks to some clothing Artan was able to accuire from a sympathetic contact on the outskirts of the city, the small group disguised themselves in the tattered garb expected of the lower-class populace around the place. They were able to blend in quite easily with the locals, despite the current war-footing most of the city's peoples were in.

Colonel Mitchell kept a close eye on everybody around him, though, and despite the fact that his assault rifle was concealed underneath his cloak, the heavy weight of the weapon against his chest was somewhat reassuring. There were armed Jaffa nearly everywhere they turned, and a number of humans were also taking up weapons and joining the cause of the Ori.

The rebellion was spreading far into all the disenfranchised, downtrodden castes of Tel'mar's society. There were many bitter debts to settle, and the Ori were willing to allow any person to join their holy quest so long as they embraced the religion of Origin.

When he saw the humans that were armed with Goa'uld staff weapons and zat-guns, Artan remarked to the others, "They must be rounding up fighters from the populations to the east and north. There, Tel'mar had naquada mines operating, upon which much of his empire was founded before the rebellion. These men are tough indeed, to survive such hardships. They will be valiant adversaries in battle, if it comes to that, and no doubt their hearts thirst for vengeance."

"And there'd be no blaming them for that!" Cam whispered back, before suddenly realising he had said that out loud, and right to Artan's face no less. However, he hardly felt any guilt for what he'd said. It had been the stone-cold truth in any respects.

"Look, let's just get on with the mission," Daniel, ever the mediator, interceded. "Maybe by the time our job's done here, there wont be any more need for bloodshed."

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

They had been in realspace over the planet known by its SGC designation as PJ3-176 for the past two hours, and so far, had no luck establishing a radio link with SG-1. The Communications chief was certain the signal was being received on the planet, and they also had a firm location on all four team-members' transponder beacons – prerequsites for every person travelling in an off-world team.

But no reply from the world below them from their lost people... Colonel Emerson was left to decide on the next course of action to take, and he didn't like his options very much at all with the limited information available to them.

However, he knew that he had a job to do to try and find SG-1, and if that meant putting people in harm's way, then that's what Paul Emerson would do. He would have rather gotten a better picture of just what was going on down there.

Colonel Emerson depressed a button on the side console of his command chair, which patched him through directly to the transport room where the thirty-four person strong Special Forces strike force was ready to disembark. "Major Conner, are you and your people ready to go?"

"Just give us the word, sir, and we're on the way," came the sharp, confident voice of the Spec Ops commander. Paul smiled. Frank's assured voice was good to hear – it lent him strength, which he knew would be necessary to make the decisions that had to be made.

"You have it, Major – and Godspeed."

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Carter dropped low to the ground when the bolts of staff weapon fire came zipping in over her head, barely avoiding a hit to the face, as the two human warriors came racing down the corridor towards her from the lower dungeons. They were warders from the cells belowground – big, strapping warriors who knew how to fight, but also how to intimidate and coerce.

Sam aimed fast but also with careful precision, and fired her shots quickly and in bursts of two. All four energy bolts hit their targets, two to each of the oncoming men, and they both came crashing to the ground in twisted heaps, dead before the hit the floor.

They were not the same tall, imposing guards that she had seen in her prison cell when she was with the rest of her team, but they had been an immediate threat to her and had to be taken out. The Colonel felt no real regret about the action, as it was simply a matter of 'shoot or die'. Sam doubted that they would have taken her prisoner, they seemed more intent on blowing her head off her shoulders.

She wasn't quite sure of where the armory where their gear was stored actually was located – Cam had filled her in as best he could about much of their situation before they had to leave on Tel'mar's infiltration missioin, so she knew about the storage room where much of their weaponry and equipment was, and a _rough_ idea on how to get there. It would have to do.

There was a shout back the way Sam had come – obviously, someone had discovered the bodies of the two Goa'uld women. Cries went out further back behind her, then the deep, resonating sound of a horn-blast – the standard Jaffa infantry's call to arms. There would be alerts going out all across the city, and soon enough, this whole fort would be jam-packed full of Tel'mar's loyalist soldiers.

Sam knew her window of opportunity was fast shrinking away. She had to keep moving along the way she was going, because there was no real chance of going back now... her only hope left was to succeed in reaching her gear, hope there was a radio and a locator beacon there, be right about the 'cavalry' being somewhere within communications, and beaming, range.

If she was wrong, or not all the equipment was there that she needed, then Lt Colonel Sam Carter knew she was probably as good as dead.

# SG1 #

Prostration was a great time to move out across the city of Alden without being noticed, and the team was ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself to them. There was an extreme risk of exposure by one of the few diligant roving patrols sweeping through the city proper, because they would more likely shoot anyone not at the mandatory prayers dead on the spot, but they had agreed that the risk was well worth it.

And it was understood, not so much in words but in a general mood that was universally shared by the four of them, that this whole mission would be all the better for being over with, as soon as possible.

Despite the risks, they managed to slip right through the lopsided sweeps made through the streets of Alden – they weren't all that frequent as it was, and the Jaffa/human patrols were hardly ready for a vicious firefight so far inside their own territory. All the Ori followers were giddy with excitement at daily news of their victories across the entire sweep of the conflict. None of Tel'mar's depleted forces were a match for the warriors of the Ori, with their enhanced weaponry and enduring faith in 'the one true path to enlightenment'.

There were two human guards outside the High Temple building's main entrance. Artan knew of a secret way into the structure, so they were completely bypassed for the more covert pathway in.

"This was a secret tunnel constructed so that the High Priests of the Cult of Tel'mar could escape, in the event of an attack of some kind," Artan explained as they made their way cautiously down the dark, tightly-packed tunnel system, deep into the side of the mountain on which the huge building sat. They were guided only by the beams of Daniel's and Cam's torchlights.

"Then what happened to the priests in this instance? Denamor said they were all slaughtered by the rebels when they took the city," Cam said.

There was a long pause, as Artan contemplated this. "To be honest, we're not completely sure on this matter. Some of Tel'mar's council whisper that a small number of the High Priests were turned by the Prior, and betrayed those of their kin who would not join the rebellion. But no-one is certain," the Jaffa warrior replied. He seemed to frown at his own explanation – the light caught this look on Artan's face as Cam swept it back down the hallway, towards the end of the tunnel which was fast approaching.

At the other end of the secret passageway was a large, round stone slab, which well and truly barred their path further on into the temple. Daniel turned to Artan inquisitively. There was no way that they could move this obstacle, even with their combined strength.

But they didn't have to. When beckoned to do so by the Jaffa, Mitchell shined his flashlight's beam onto the surface of the stone slab, and saw that there was a myriad of runes and slashing symbols littered all over a porton of the rock-barrier. Artan touched a half-dozen of the strange alien writings in rapid succession, and the slab slowly grinded aside, sliding away from them to reveal an opening out of the passageway and into the interior of the High Temple.

"We are near the Wall of Martyrs, where all the fallen heroes of Tel'mar are engraved and venerated for all time," Artan said, his voice hushed with reverence. "It is truly a grave shame that this building must be destroyed..."

"Yeh, sure it is," Cam agreed, though he hardly meant it. To him, this was just another Goa'uld structure that was nothing more than a reflection of the alien species' grand, universal ego. "Now, where do you think these six rebel leaders should be located?"

"Follow me," the Jaffa warrior beckoned. He moved forward through the gap the secret door had made for them, and entered the great temple itself. Cam, then Daniel and finally Teal'c followed suit. They all had their guns up and at the ready – this was the very heart of enemy territory, so none of them knew what to expect around each corner.

This was near the end of their journey, but it was the most dangerous part of the mission so far.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

There were enemy troops coming at her from all directions. Sam was close enough to the armory door, she could almost reach out and touch it... but the concentrated staff weapon fire that was coming at her from down the hallway to her immediate left made it almost impossible to move from where she was, sheltered behind a large stone pillar that was helping support the roof, high overhead.

The immediate response force to the call to arms was Tel'mar's own personal Elite Guard – a motley collection of humans and Jaffa, as far as Colonel Carter could tell, that had sworn an oath of fealty to the Goa'uld Lord and were willing to lay down their lives in his service. These people were tough, and dedicated.

Firing a quick double-burst of zat-gun bolts at one Jaffa warrior who was unfortunate enough to pop his head out just a little too far from around the corner to Sam's left, she killed yet another enemy trooper, only to be met by returning fire from the fallen soldier's companions. She was outnumbered, outgunned, and had little hope of making the very brief distance between her current covering position and the armory's only entrance.

Suddenly though, the door to the armory swung open, and a couple of camoflarged Spec Ops troops streamed out, laying down a whithering stream of bullets upon the massed Elite Guard that they could hit from their location. Carter watched in amazement as the four soldiers cut down two-thirds of the enemy's numbers inside of a few seconds, before any of them quite realized the new danger that they faced.

When the remnants of Tel'mar's warriors turned their focus towards this new threat, Sam acted, leaping out from behind her cover and charging the enemy positions while their attention was drawn away from her. The stunning bolts from her zat'ni'katel knocked the last five warriors out of the fight before they could act against her, and soon enough she was standing before her would-be rescuers, struggling to take in a breath due to the exertions of her desperate flight from capture.

One of the armed men saluted her crisply, then when Sam returned the gesture, reached out to shake her hand. "My name is Major Frank Conner, Ma'am. I've heard a lot about you, and I'm glad we could be of assistance here."

"Well I sure needed help when you all showed up, Major! Thank-you," Carter replied with a weary smile. Then Sam suddenly remembered her situation, and the fact that the rest of her team was still somewhere out in the wild, at extreme peril risking their lives because she had been used as a tool of blackmail. "I'm guessing that you're a security detachment from the _Odyssey_?"

"Yes Ma'am," the Major answered. "General Landry had us diverted from our own mission to come look in on the situation here. He was sure there was something in Colonel Mitchell's voice over the brief radio link they established that was... out of the ordinary. We were dispatched to investigate, and help you guys out if needed."

"Well, it sure is needed, soldier. I'll explain everything once I'm aboard the Odyssey. Colonel Emerson needs to hear what I have to say as soon as possible."

The Major nodded crisply. He ushered the Lieutenant Colonel into the armory, where four more soldiers were standing around the pile of gear the team had been stripped of when they were captured by Tel'mar's forces... how long ago that had been, Carter couldn't recall. She forced the disconcerting thought of the duration of time she had been under the Goa'uld's control slip away, and drove her mind back to the present situation.

Conner reached down into the pile of gear, searched around for a few moments amongs the equipment, and came out holding a small eletronic locator beacon, that would act as a beaming tag for the Asgard beam-teleports to lock onto. It was a device that allowed for easier tracking and extracting of Earth's personnel off-world by friendly forces.

Carter didn't resist when he reached out and clipped the locator beacon onto the front of her now completely embarassing dress. He didn't say a word about her attire, but Sam could see his eyes lingering a little too long on places of her body they shouldn't be, and she felt a rush of heat go straight to her head. _Damn this!_

Frank then pulled a long-range radio communications set from off his belt, and depressed the TALK button. "_Odyssey_, this is Major Conner. We have the Colonel. Request extraction on all locator beacons immediately."

There was a slight pause, then, "Roger that, Major. We've got you all on sensors, prepare for beam-up."

Carter stood beside Conner, and across from the other four grim-faced, tense SF soldiers, as Asgard-designed and engineered transporter beams engulfed them all, and their bodies were teleported at near-light speed up to the orbiting _Odyssey_ spacecraft, flying high above the planet.

# SG1 #

In a small alcove cut into the side of the mountain on which his fortress was built, overlooking the city of Menphal far below, Tel'mar rushed towards the open side hatch of the Al'Kesh bomber, glancing back at his First Prime, Denamor, to make sure the man was able to keep pace with his long, striding canter. "Hurry, Denamor, there isn't much time!"

"I'm coming, Lord Tel'mar," the man heaved, as he threw himself forward that last short distance, to join the Goa'uld inside the Al'Kesh before the Unas' big, clawed hand slapped down on a control-panel, and the hatch slid shut on automated hydrolics systems.

"We are ready, Yar'ren," the Goa'uld Lord said in a deep, commanding voice, shouting back towards the front of the bomber, where a Jaffa warrior was crouched in front of the elaborate control systems that operated the Al'Kesh. Slowly, the bomber rose up off the floor of the hidden bay from amongst the other Goa'uld space-faring vessels, then its rear drives powered up and the craft shot off into darkening evening's sky.

Before they traveled very far at all, Yar'ren activated the cloaking device onboard the Al'Kesh, and the mid-range bomber disappeared for all intents and purposes – both visually, and from any detectable sensors.

Tel'mar strode forward to stand by the Jaffa pilot's left side, and watched on in silent contemplation as Yar'ren went about the task of maneouvering their vessel out over the capital, then away to the west, putting as much distance between themselves and the Tau'ri mothership hovering in orbit in space high overhead.

Denamor slipped into his now-comfortable position by the side of his Lord, and thought of what might been... they were running away from their capital now, driven out by two enemy forces that Tel'mar had no hope of standing against.

The Tau'ri, who obviously did not want to work with them and desired to destroy the Goa'uld control of this planet, had extracted their captured soldier Colonel Carter under hostile fire from Elite Guard and warders from the dungeon; and the Ori rebels, forever massing and pressing forward cautiously all along the frontier between their two territories, were now driving forward against Tel'mar's loyalist troops in large thrusts.

It was seemingly inevitable that their empire here on this world would crumple, so Tel'mar had decided that it was time to flee – or, when his stubborn sense of glory and invincible divinity kicked in, to retreat to gain new strength and resolve to recapture this bastion of his imperial kingdom.

"What is our destination, My Lord?" Yar'ren asked respectfully, glancing up inquisitively towards the Unas who loomed over his shoulder.

"The space-docks of Remarz Tor," Tel'mar said with a grim smirk. "I want to take our remaining Ha'tak up to meet this Tau'ri warship. We shall see how the renowned Tau'ri warriors stand against our own motherships in battle."

There was a moment's pause, then Denamor inquired, "Is the mothership ready for a fight, Lord Tel'mar? It barely survived the engagement with the Ori gun batteries three weeks ago, when we lost the last two vessels."

For a few seconds, the First Prime of Tel'mar had thought he had gone too far by voicing his concerns. The rage that flickered across the Unas' face was intense indeed. But the Goa'uld at last gave a smile.

"Yes Denamor, the Ha'tak is ready for combat. The repairs to the vessel had been round-the-clock, and the mothership is now fully prepared for war. I had not planned to take it into battle against the forces of the Tau'ri, but we shall destroy their cursed vessel before making our escape into hyperspace above this world," Tel'mar explained.

His eyes gleemed with barely-concealed fury. The Goa'uld Lord could hardly believe he was explaining himself to his own First Prime, supposedly his most loyal servant. It was a sign of the desperate times Tel'mar faced, that he did not kill Denamor outright for his insolence. He needed the man, as the figurehead general in command of the god Tel'mar's fighting forces across his empire. They would follow their Lord, yes, but they respected and admired Denamor for his courage and tenacity.

Suddenly though, the Jaffa pilot Yar'ren had the nerve to speak. "We are abandoning the planet to the Ori, Lord Tel'mar? Surely this cannot be so!" Yar'ren said with the indignant rage of a true believer, whose views on the ways of the universe had been shaken to their core. "You are a god! Truly, a god cannot be beaten and forced to flee from the lands of his people."

Tel'mar glanced across at Denamor, who nodded his head slightly in understanding, before the Goa'uld replied to his warrior's challenging remarks. "Listen Yar'ren, there are many things that you cannot comprehend in this universe. Trust in me, and know that I will always look out for those who embrace the benevolent wisdom of my teachings in their hearts."

As the Unas' paw rested lightly on Yar'ren's left shoulder, Denamor moved in swiftly, siezing a thick handful of the Jaffa's hair and tugging his head back savagely. His right hand came flying up from his side, sliding a razor-sharp dagger across Yar'ren's throat and slitting it open from ear to ear. The warrior's deep red lifeblood splattered out of his mortal wound, splashing across the side of Tel'mar's face and across the side of his tunic as the youthful pilot shuddered, convulsing briefly before laying still and motionless at last.

The First Prime of Tel'mar quickly lifted the Jaffa's body up out of the pilot's chair, and dragged it back out of the way before taking Yar'ren's place at the controls of the Al'Kesh bomber. "You can get us to the space-docks, Denamor?"

"Yes, My Lord," the man replied with confidence.

Tel'mar smiled. He was sad enough to have to decieve Yar'ren just moments before his under-handed murder, but there had been no real alternative. The Goa'uld Lord was indeed running from this planet. There was no denying it. But this was a hopeless situation, and Tel'mar knew there was little alternative to self-exile besides death.

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

After having given Colonel Emerson and Major Conner an abbreviated update on events as far as she knew them, Lt Colonel Samantha Carter found herself standing on the bridge of the _USS Odyssey_ with the other two officers, looking down through the viewscreen at the planet far below. Sam had quickly changed outfits back into the more comfortable, familiar dark green BDUs that she was used to, and was very happy to do so, before heading up to the bridge to brief the two senior officers of the interstellar battle-cruiser.

Paul Emerson glanced up at the other two from time to time, or looked past them through the clear screen down onto the green-pastured world under his ship, but for the most part his attention was firmly fixated on the reports coming through to his station from other parts of the vessel – status reports on their combat readiness, for the most part, as well as the current conditions of vital operating systems.

"What do you suggest for our next course of action, Colonel Carter?" Emerson asked Sam at last.

"Well sir, I think we should target the fortress I was just held in, first of all," Samantha replied honestly. "It is the main stronghold of the Goa'uld Tel'mar that hasn't either fallen to the Ori, or rebelled against him. We might even strike out, and manage to kill the Lord before he escapes – though he's probably well away from the area by now."

"Are you sure that's a wise move, Colonel?" Major Conner replied. "Begging your pardon Ma'am but I ask with the upmost respect – are you sure hitting back against Tel'mar in this way isn't more of a _personal_ reason, than a logical strategic course of action?"

Carter took this comment for what it was; an observation made by a fellow officer on her own recommendation, and an assessment of her own decision-making processes just after being liberated from an enemy stronghold. He was only trying to look out for her, and also to make sure that the rest of them all stayed safe and got out of this alive. But Sam also knew she was right about striking the fortress next.

"Colonel Emerson, this isn't about me at all," Colonel Carter replied, straight up and with as much sincerity in her voice as she could muster. "The Goa'uld are just as much a problem here as the Ori. If we hit out now against the demoralized, weakened forces Tel'mar still controls, then we can take out one of the factions on this world. This can allow us to hit back against the Ori forces without worrying about being betrayed or attacked by the Goa'uld Lord and his minions."

Colonel Paul Emerson accepted Sam's argument to strike the fortress first with a nod of his head, then sat back in his chair and contemplated what she had said. "Major, do you have any suggestions?"

"I say we scan this city the Colonel says the rest of SG-1 are headed to, Alden, as well as the surrounding area," Conner said firmly. "We locate them, then get the hell out of here and leave PJ3-174 to its fate. As far as I gather from what the Colonel's told me, it's a lost cause anyway."

There was a long moment's silence, but then Sam Carter broke it at last by saying, "We can't just abandon this place, no matter what anyone says. If we start to give in here and now, we'll be running and dodging the Ori forces all the way back to Earth, when they're right on our doorstep and there's nothing more to do but to give in or die."

Colonel Paul Emerson nodded slowly. He looked up from his reflective contemplations, and smiled very slightly.

"Colonel Carter, I agree with your argument." Conner's shoulders slump down besides Sam, but they both ignore this and carry on, and the Major said nothing to challenge their decision. The commander of the _USS Odyssey_ opened a channel directly to his weapons-control centre, and gave the order directly to the Captain in charge of this vital system, "Captain Davis, ready forward silo 1 for immediate launch."

The order was received and carried out. When one of the crew shouted out that silo number 1 was prepped to fire, Emerson shouted, "Target the fortress and launch the missile!"

They all watched as the Mark-8 tactical nuclear weapon streaked away from the undercarriage of the massive battle-cruiser, and flew down towards the surface of the planet far below, straight and true. Sam Carter looked on with trepidation, and hoped that what she had helped argue for was the right course of action, and that the damage to the nearby capital city would be minimal.

She knew that if the explosion was aboveground, the devestation wrought by a Mark-8 nuke would level everything within three miles, but the destructive capabilities of the weapon would continue outwards beyond that point in decreasing intensity. Hopefully though, the missile's bunker-busting capabilities would reduce the device's effective yeild to the kill-zone only.

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

On the world below, no-one inside the fortress had any idea that they were about to die until it was far too late. The missile flew into the southwestern side of the massive stone-mason structure, punching right through the reinforced wall's extensive battlements and bringing the fort's barrier crashing down along that side. But it did not stop there – the impact hardly lessened the nuclear weapon's flight.

It continued to drive down through the fortress, punching through private quarters, halls, kitchens, armouries, and then finally the dungeons and lower storage rooms, until finally the device detonated deep underneath the looming stronghold. Everything was vapourized in a blinding flash, then engulfed in a fireball that spread upwards through the fort, and blew up and outwards from there, blasting half the mountainside apart in a fiery explosion that rocked the ground for hundreds of miles in all directions.

Smoke, flames and debris were all hurled up into the sky from the epicentre of the detonation, and soon wafted over the city of Menphal. There was nothing left of the fortress that had been such an imposing fixture on the mountainside above the city for so many generations, save for the massive crater, the choking smoke and ash that blew down upon the capital due to the prevailing winds, and the chunks of rock, granite and masonry that feel down from the darkened sky above.

Every last living thing in the fort at the time of the nuclear warhead's detonation was as good as dead. No-one could possibly have survived such prevalent destruction.

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

The _Odyssey_ did not spend long in orbit over the city of Menphal – but reports had filtered in via the ship's atmospheric sensors and relay points that the nuclear strike had been a clear, textbook affair, and that there was minimum damage to the nearby city and only a slight rise in radiation levels.

In all, things had turned out splendidly, as the primary target had been eliminated, with little to no collateral damage. The crew on the bridge of the space-craft were all quietly jubilant with their successes, but Emerson quickly reigned them all in by ordering that they immediately set a course for the city of Alden – the known location of SG-1's target, the High Temple of Tel'mar.

This mission was not over yet, for any of them... and their vessel was about to cross over into Ori territory, in search of the rest of Stargate Command's missing flagship team.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

The six leaders of the Ori rebellion on PJ3-176 were lightly defended, so deep inside their own territory. There were two big, towering guards standing by the main entrances to the room where the conclave held its gathering; two more were positioned by the only other doorway. The guards were armed with Jaffa staff weapons, and bore the seals on their foreheads of warrior-caste Jaffa from Tel'mar's army – they all must have been defectors.

Gathered together around the corner from the main entrance, the rest of the team listened to Cam as he explained what he wanted from each one of them. They all listened on in silence, and no-one had anything else to add to the mission plan once Lt Colonel Mitchell had finished talking; it was not that anyone else was afraid to speak up, but rather that Cam had come up with such a simple, yet effective, strategy for dealing with this scenario.

In the room down the hall, the six generals were discussing the strategies they would employ against Tel'mar's remaining loyalist forces in the final push into his lands, from multiple fronts. They planned to cut through the Goa'uld's weakened army and make a drive straight for Menphal.

Then once the city was taken, the false god Tel'mar would either be beaten into submission and forced to flee, or he would be killed without mercy by Ori forces, in battle or on display so that all the newly-subjegated masses could see the death of their once-mighty Lord. Their words were spoken loudly, and their voices laced with the confidence of arrogant men.

"Ready for the big show, boys?" Cam asked the other three men with a crooked smile. They all nodded in return, then the two Jaffa split off from the pair of Tau'ri, and made their way slowly and with deft skill down another corridor, around to the second entrance to the chamber they were planning to assault.

This just left Daniel and Colonel Mitchell, alone together, resting up for their push in against the armed Ori followers on sentry duty near the open doorway leading into the chamber beyond, where the important heads of the rebel army were gathered. They had to wait until Teal'c and Artan were in position to strike, then they could lead the attack against their foes.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Cam?" Daniel Jackson asked softly at last, afraid that his voice might carry to the ears of the guards if he spoke any louder. "There is no other alternative here we might have overlooked, is there?"

"No Daniel, I don't believe there is, and I haven't came this far to turn back now when we're so close," Colonel Mitchell replied with grim, assured finality. "Now, are you with me, Dr Jackson?"

"By your side to the very end, Colonel." The other two were at their readied positions – the double-click that came through over their radio sets confirmed that to Daniel Jackson and Cam Mitchell.

Both of them were already suited up and ready to go, their automatic weapons clutched tightly in their hands with the safety-catches already switched off. With a nod from Cam, they both leapt out from around the corner and charged down the hallway, towards the two unsuspecting Jaffa guardians.

# SG1 #

The sound of gunfire back down around the corner from where they'd come did not bother Teal'c and Artan as they cautiously made their approach towards the two Jaffa sentinals, standing guard in front of the only other entrance to the meeting chamber where their six targets were located. But the Jaffa warriors on guard duty, however, immediately turned towards the direction of the gun-battle, bringing their staff weapons around to bear and activating the alien devices, readying themselves for a battle ahead.

Little did they know that they were now facing_ away _from their immediate threat. Teal'c and Artan were hardly going to let them know this, however. They moved out away from the wall the two of them were pressed up against, took their positions out in the centre of the hallway facing the two unprepared Jaffa, and fired right into their backs, cutting the two warriors down without mercy.

"That went well," Artan said, as he reached down to check the pulse of the Jaffa he had shot down with his auto-cannon arm weapon.

"Do not bother with them, Artan; the warriors are both dead," Teal'c snapped, as he turned to race on past the two motionless bodies to the side of the entrance to the chamber. "We still have to deal with the six generals inside this room up ahead. They will be all the more difficult to eliminate, now that they are alerted to our presence here. We must move quickly, and with decisive action, before they can barricade themselves in against us."

# SG1 #

Dr Jackson and Cam Mitchell were also past their Jaffa opponents, and standing on both sides of their own entry-way into the chamber beyond. They could hear the hushed voices of the leaders of the Ori movement as they rushed about the room, overturning furniture and hunkering down in preperation of an attack against them.

This was not as sweeping, elegent an attacking pincer as Colonel Mitchell had imagined. _The best-laid plans never survive first contact with the enemy, and all that jazz,_ Cam thought to himself with a sour little smirk. Still though, he knew he had to come up with a remedy to deal with this situation, and fast too.

"How many grenades do you have with you?" Cam asked Daniel suddenly, as an idea began to form in his mind.

"Six... why?" Dr Jackson inquired. Daniel blanched at the look in Mitchell's eyes, and seemed almost afraid to answer the Colonel's question.

"Get ready to pull the pins on two of them then chuck the live grenades around the corner – when I tell you to go," Cam said. Then, he reached down for his radio, that was clipped to the side of his combat vest. "T-Man, you and Artan get ready to charge the room from your end, when I give the order. Got that?" he asked, speaking through the comms-gear as he depressed the TALK button on its side.

"On your command, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied curtly over the radio-link. The two Jaffa warriors would follow Mitchell's order.

Then to Daniel, and without there being a connection between the two teams so Teal'c wouldn't misunderstand and charge the room without support, Cam said, "Go, throw the grenades now Danny-boy!"

In a flash, Daniel Jackson did just as Cam bid him to, pulling the pins out of the two grenades he'd unclipped from his belt, and hurling the now-live and active explosive devices far into the round, chambered room beyond them both. There were startled cries of panic and alarm, and the sound of scuffling feet on the stone floor as people tried to run away from the circular objects, or run towards them to throw the things back, neither member of SG-1 knew for sure.

But either way, the explosions came, and the room was rocked with the noise and savage intensity of the close-quarters detonations.

"Teal'c, now – go go go!" Mitchell shouted into the radio. He and Daniel Jackson raced into the smoke-filled room beyond, firing into the dark, shadowy masses that still moved amongst the rubble and debris around the chamber.

There were only a pair of the leaders who were still alive, on Cam and Daniel's side of the room at least, but the two men had shot them full of bullet-holes on their rushed entry in. Most of the others were killed in the grenade explosions. Artan, on the other side of the chamber, shot the last general though in the face when the two Jaffa rushed in through their own doorway, taking the man's head off his shoulders from the energy-weapon's blast.

But their work had been done quite easily, in the end. Brutal firepower and a speedy follow-through had triumphed, and the defenders' own shock at the unexpected attack in their own heart of power had been a major trump-card as well.

The team gathered together in the centre of the shattered, blood-soaked chamber, to discuss their next move hurriedly before Ori reinforcements arrived.

As Cam Mitchell was about to speak, though, there came a booming, resonant voice from behind him. The sound of his voice tore through the room like a thunderclap, and there was no denying the power nor the conviction of the words that were spoken. "Why have you come here, warriors of the Tau'ri? Why are you serving a Master who does not love you, Artan, noble Jaffa fighter?" the Ori Prior asked. "Your path to salvation and deliverance from evil lies in the book of Origin – do not serve this sinner Tel'mar anymore, and your eternal souls may yet be saved from damnation."

All four of the team rounded on the Prior of the Ori, that was standing in the doorway which Colonel Mitchell and Dr Jackson had burst in through. The Prior was holding a large, ornately-carved wooden staff, just like the Ori monk they had dispatched in the forest earlier in their journey to Alden; but there was something different about the staff, one thing being that it was larger, and of a darker shade in color.

The skin of the Prior of the Ori was, like all of his kind, wrinkled and ivory-white. There were also intricate tattoos on various parts of his body, some of which were not covered by his cloak, and could be seen by others. His eyes were hooded over, but when he opened them fully and looked at the men arrayed before him, they shone with a golden brilliance that chilled all of the team-members facing the Prior to their core. There was immense power at this Prior's command, as was true with all of the envoys of the Ori that had been encountered so far by the races of the Milky Way Galaxy.

"You are a fool if ya think we're gonna come over to your side of the fence, Prior," Mitchell said confidently. "We know what your game is, and we don't want any part of it, so why don't you pack up your little bag of magic tricks and take your sorry butt back to your own galaxy? Us Milky Way folk don't want what the Ori are sellin'..."

"Your race is arrogant, human, so I will forgive you this slight," the Ori messenger whispered, his voice laced with menace. "But do not think for a moment that this entire series of events was your doing alone. It was orcastrated, to lure Tel'mar's best fighters into this city. I was hoping to turn some of the core warriors of his army against the Goa'uld, so that they may return and report a successful mission, and act as assassins when the full offensive begins, eliminating the Lord before he can escape his city. If necessary, the strike team could have been dispatched. The six generals you have just killed meant little in the full scheme of things – they were simply bait, expendable, and hardly important to the war."

"But you weren't expecting us to be a part of this elaborate scheme, were you?" Daniel asked, but he was sure enough of the answer even before the Prior replied.

"Indeed, Dr Jackson," he said. "This is an unexpected complication. As too is the appearance of your Earth ship, heading towards this city – no doubt in some foolhardy attempt to find the three of you. The fortress near Menphal has been destroyed by your forces, though, so I have already given the order to begin the final assault. Soon, this entire planet will be under the control of the Ori."

"You will not succeed, Prior," Artan spat our defiantly.

"Oh, that is where you are mistaken, Artan," the Prior replied. "Few of your fellow warriors have the will to continue the fighting, and there has been enough chaos and bloodshed wrought in this war already. Your Lord Tel'mar is already in full flight, his final stronghold is destroyed, and there is no chance that your side can emerge from this conflict victorious. And, now that everything has proceeded along so far, and so unexpectedly, I have no need whatsoever to keep you alive..."

Colonel Mitchell didn't wait for the Prior to attack first; he raised his P-90 up into a firing position, levelled the gun at the Ori envoy, then loosened off a quick burst of bullets at the enemy. The rounds hurled through the air towards their target, then came to a sudden, inexplicible halt barely a foot in front of the Ori Prior's face. The cloaked figure waved his right hand down a couple times, and the stilled lead rounds dropped harmlessly down onto the floor with a soft, tinkling clatter.

"Fall back!" Cam shouted out back towards the others, as he too stepped back towards the doorway Teal'c and Artan had entered the chamber through, firing doggedly at the Prior all the while on full automatic. None of the bullets got through – the genetically-altered human's mental abilities were far too strong, as all the rounds were stopped by the Prior's will alone – but the Ori follower was not able to strike out against any of them while he was trying to stop the Colonel's weapons-fire from striking him. "Keep moving – I'll cover our retreat!"

Mitchell glanced quickly slideways to make sure the others were doing as he ordered, and retreating back to the other exit – but this was when he stopped firing his weapon for just a moment, and the Prior was freed to hit out against him with his advanced abilities.

The Prior shot out his right and left hands, with their palms raised. The force-push lifted Cam right up off his feet, and sent the Colonel hurdling back into the far wall with such force that the air was knocked straight out of his lungs, and Mitchell could taste blood welling up in his mouth almost instantly. His back was slammed into the ungiving stone wall with such force that Cameron thought he might have shattered his back.

The driving thrust back against the wall went away immediately, once the Prior lowered his hands. Then the Ori follower snatched up his staff weapon, which had been hovering in mid-air by his side the whole time the Prior had been using his mental abilities to attack Mitchell, and swung the imposing wooden cane around on the rest of Cam's team.

Artan, the closest one to the doorway, was the one that was targeted in the Prior's next attack. He fired his staff at the Jaffa, sending a burst of bright blue-white energy straight at Artan's back. At the last moment, the Jaffa seemed to sense the danger facing him, and made a last-ditched jump for the relative safety of the doorway ahead of him.

Because of this, he only copped the energy-bolt to the left side of his body, instead of right to the centre of his back. A glancing hit, instead of a likely kill-shot. The impact forced Artan right through the dooorway and onwards, sending him crashing down into the corridor beyond.

Cam, laying sprawled out on the floor, forgotten by the Prior for the moment, forced himself quickly upright on the ground as best he could. He fought valiantly against the pain and the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him, knowing that the Ori Prior would decimate his team, unless Mitchell got the inhibitor activated before it was too late.

He struggled with his kit-bag, trying to reach around to get at the zipper. Mitchell's body was wracked by another bout of spasms due to the over-exertion, and he almost cried out in agony – the Colonel bit down hard on his lower lip instead, to stifle the cry of pain.

There was nothing to do about the pain, but to try to ignore it and force himself onwards regardless. Cam Mitchell knew he had little time left – either the Prior would see him soon and finish the job, or he would tear through the others and there wouldn't be a team left for the saving.

Suddenly, he had the zipper in his hands and tugged the bag wide open with one pull of the cord. The 'anti-Prior gun', he'd suggested for a name for the device, sat right in front of Cam, and he reached down eagerly to pluck it out of the bag, like an excitable little kid with a favourite new toy on Christmas morning.

The settings had been calibrated correctly back on Earth, Mitchell saw at a glance – _good work there, Dr Lee!_

Teal'c and Daniel were making their way desperately back to where Cam lay sprawled on the floor, firing their weapons at the Prior in tandem as they went. They were coming back for him, and Colonel Mitchell wasn't surprised in the least because that was the way SG-1 always was. When he hit the button that activated the Prior inhibitor, the last few shots that Daniel Jackson fired at the Ori follower got through the man's mental defences... which had now been cancelled out by the device.

The Prior staggered back against the impact of the bullets striking his body, and looked down with disbelieving alarm at the wounds that stretched up across the side of his chest. Dr Jackson was shocked at first, as well, but then he glanced over at Mitchell and saw the open bag on the floor in front of the Colonel, with the inhibitor inside it, glowing with its front control panel lit up just like it always was when the device was switched on.

"Teal'c, the Prior's vulnerable!" Daniel shouted out. Teal'c moved swiftly, instantly changing focus from the stunned, wounded Colonel Mitchell, onto the Ori Prior that was sagging slowly down towards the ground.

Dr Jackson and Teal'c both opened fire on the Prior, cutting him down with a prolonged spray of bullets from their assault weapons. The bullet-ridden corpse of the Prior dropped backwards onto the ground where he stood, blood seeping out from over two dozen wounds all over his body.

Daniel stepped up to the Ori Prior's motionless form, aimed his gun at the man's head, and squeezed off a final short burst into his skull. It hadn't been necessary as the Prior was already dead, but Jackson wanted to make absolutely sure.

"Your gods won't save you now, Prior," the archaeologist and former Ascended Ancient said softly, looking down on the blood-splattered corpse. Then he turned and walked back to the others, rejoining Teal'c as he was helping Colonel Mitchell carefully back onto his feet again.

Cam was a little unsteady standing up at first, and taking his first few steps almost ended in disaster if Daniel hadn't swept in to catch the Colonel. But quickly enough, Mitchell recoverd, and he suited back up again, with the now-deactivated inhibitor device back in his kit-bag behind his back.

The SG-1 members quickly headed over to check on Artan who, despite themselves, the others had all come to accept as being part of their team.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Again, another gun emplacement on the planet opened fire on the _USS Odyssey_ as the battle-cruiser passed by high overhead. They had passed by a number of these defensive positions so far, and there was still quite some distance to their target destination, the city of Alden.

This anti-air battery was hundreds of miles below them, and was spraying a wide area of the heavens above with energy-bursts in the hopes of a few of them striking the vessel – but the problem was, a few of them were, and those that actually _did _hit the Tau'ri ship did considerable damage to their shields.

"Sir, shield strength down to 74," said one of the officers at the bank of computer terminals at the back of the bridge section.

"At this rate, the Ori are probably going to blow us out of the sky before we're halfway to Alden," Colonel Emerson said gloomily. "Colonel Carter, I'd be happy to take one of your patented brilliant solutions right about now!"

"And I wish I had one to offer you, sir!" Sam replied, as the ship was rocked yet again from the impact of one of the Ori followers' cannon battery shots smashing against the underside of their vessel. "But at the moment I'm all out of ideas."

The shielding absorbed much of the punishment, but an eletrical port over by the doorway to Carter's left shorted out, and something with a combustible element exploded above her head. Choking smoke quickly flowed down over her, and soon Sam's lungs were burning and full of it. One of the ship's junior-grade officers rushed over to put out the small eletrical fires this damage had started with one of the emergency portable fire-extinguishers.

"Well we can't just keep going forward the way we are," Major Conner spoke up, stating the blatantly obvious.

"That's a fact, Major," Emerson shot back, a little more savagely than he had actually intended. Quickly, he favoured the other man with an apologetic smile. "Look, there has to be a way around these defensive positions to the city of Alden. Another path, maybe a very short jump into hyperspace... come up with something we can use, people. I don't want to come this far, only to get forced back a few yards from the finishing line."

"Roger that, Colonel," Sam said promptly. Over by the other side of the observation deck, Major Frank Conner nodded in agreement. He knew it wasn't worth getting involved in this mess anymore – Carter would be the one to get them through this, because if anyone onboard the ship could it would be her.

It was all up to the blonde-haired Air Force officer... the rest of them were just along for the ride.

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

Artan wasn't going to last long, and at a glance it was obvious enough to the three original members of SG-1. He had been wounded badly by the shot to the left side of his body, which had only been a glancing hit but which was packed full of deadly energies that were even then wracking him with intense, gripping pain.

If anything, the Jaffa warrior had come to grow on them all, in his own way, despite who and what he was – a loyal dedicated fighter for a Goa'uld Lord.

Teal'c himself couldn't begrudge Artan anything, as he himself had been right in the very same position the other Jaffa was, when he had served the Goa'uld Apophis with dedication and unswerving obediance. With Mitchell's gentle help, the two of them propped the severely wounded Jaffa up against a nearby wall, helping him into a more comfortable position before they all crouched down around Artan, and watched on in respectful, silent patience as the fighter struggled to force himself back to some form of lucid clarity.

"I don't know what that energy shot was made of," Daniel said softly to the other two men, as he stepped up and away from checking to Artan's cauterized wound, "but it's done some severe damage to some vital organs, and he seems to be in a lot of pain. He doesn't want to take anything for it, though. Says it's hardly worth it, and his symbiote is helping with much of it."

"No doubt this is true, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c glanced away for a moment, as if comtemplating how to broach the one subject that was on all of their minds. "What do we do about him, though? We must make our escape, before Ori followers arrive and see what has happened here..."

"Look, I can't go on any further and we all know it," Artan spoke up at last, his voice croaking with the strain that was exerted on him just to speak those few words. "There's no way you could take me with you and escape from here."

Cameron snapped his head around, and dropped straight down by the Jaffa's side. "No way, Artan. We started out on this mission together, and we're finishing it together. That's what being part of a team is all about. We've got your back, you've got ours."

"But... y-you don't owe me... Carter..hostage-" the Jaffa stammered, before tensing up as another bout of agonizing pain tore through him. He tried to mask it as best he could, but the toll that the energy-shot was taking on the Jaffa's body was undeniable.

"That was not your doing, Artan," Teal'c said solemnly, crouching down as well, on the other side of the dying warrior. "You are a warrior of bravery and valour, my friend. Although," and this, the Free Jaffa Nation co-founder said with a hint of a smile, "you serve a false god..."

The wounded fighter grinned, and let out a low chuckle. "Thank-you, brother..." he whispered. Then, more strongly and to all three of the men around him, Artan said with conviction, "Go now, all of you, before this place is overrun with Ori followers. I'll do my best to hold them off, then once you've gotten far enough away, I'll detonate the explosive device we were meant to use anyway, and destroy this whole building."

"No way, there has to be some other-" Mitchell said, almost shouting, his frustration building up deep inside him til his vision started to cloud over in a red haze. He couldn't believe this. Artan had been nothing but reliable and dedicated, only doing what he had to do in this bitter, ugly business. Now, he was offering this one last self-sacrafice, so that the rest of them could escape from this temple.

"There IS no other way, Colonel, and we all know it!" Artan argued diligently. The silence that settled over the little group was telling. They all gave their unspoken consent to Artan's staying behind in that pause. When at last someone did speak, it was Cam Mitchell.

"Thank-you Artan... for everything."

"And I thank you as well, Colonel Mitchell," the Jaffa replied with a genuine smile. "This has been an experience I do not regret, despite the outcome."

Mitchell patted Artan on his armour-plated shoulder, then rose and turned away. He took a few steps back into the chamber where the extensive fighting had mostly taken place, took a long look at the dead Ori Prior with a level of grim satisfaction, then waited as the other two SG-1 members said their own personal farewells to the wounded warrior.

_There was no way they could have expected to take him with us,_ Cam kept on telling himself. _And this way, at least he can do some good one last time before he dies..._

Still, somehow this all felt wrong to Cam. It was his own personal ethos of never leaving a comrade behind in the field, he guessed. Well, this was hardly the time or the place to let his own personal credo get in the way of what had to be done – and, this was something that, despite his own ill-givings, had to be done and Mitchell knew it.

Once they were all finished with their goodbyes, the three SG-1 troops checked what remained of their gear over in the battle-scarred chamber room, then headed out back they way they had come, towards the secret passage that they had used to gain entry into the High Temple. No-one looked back at Artan, and nobody spoke of what they had done just then.

It was a painful burden they would each have to bear privately, and on their own.

# SG1 #

_Finally, they have left me,_ the Jaffa Artan thought, as he detached the auto-cannon off his arm and dropped it down onto his lap for easier use.

He was aching all over, and the intensity of the pain was only increasing with the passage of time. There was also a numbing sensation around the deep wound to his side, which Artan did not like. His vision was fading in and out, at times, which also had him concerned. The Jaffa warrior hoped he lasted long enough to help the rest of the team one final time...

The last mission for Lord Tel'mar had been near-hopeless from the start, and was always expected to be a one-way trip. Artan had not expected to grow so attached to the Tau'ri from Earth and the sho'vah, Teal'c, but the way they had acted and worked as a smooth, cohesive, loyal team had shown him that these warriors were indeed a special group.

Artan had felt ashamed, by the time they had approached the High Temple, of his own participation in this scheme, and his service to the Goa'uld ruler. The Jaffa was not a fool – he knew full well just what Tel'mar was, as did most of the Elite Guard and the few heroes of his armies that still remained after the bitter fighting in their civil war across the planet.

This was the perfect way for him to die... as the whole world died with him. There was little hope for his homeworld, Artan realized with a wave of horror that threatened to overwhelm his own pained senses and send him plummeting down into a pit of dispair. No matter which side triumphed in the end, the people were doomed to a life of slavery and hardship.

There was nothing he could do about it, though. Not anymore...

The sound of boots thudding against the ground off to the side pulled Artan out of his gloomy reverie, and he instantly reached down to snatch up the Goa'uld-designed weapon in his lap. The device was designed to fire energy bolts out of its cannon-mouth just like the Jaffa staff weapon, but at a much greater rate of fire.

Unprepared enemies could be chopped to pieces before they realized the danger that they faced – it's invention had single-handedly revolutionized the art of warfare amongst the Jaffa sects, and led to the deaths of millions inside of a year of its adoption on a wide scale. The Kull warriors, before their eventual demise along with the Goa'uld's stranglehold domination of the cosmos, had two of the weapons built into their own personal armour suits.

Now, Artan waited for the eventual combat to come. He had the explosive charge laid down by his right side, so when the time finally came to detonate the weapon and blow this temple into oblivion, it was within easy reach as well.

There had to be enough time for the team to clear the secret tunnel and put some distance between themselves and the High Temple, first... but he also knew that there was little time left, this shot from the Ori staff was killing him, and there was also a chance that the followers of Origin that were coming could kill him outright in the firefight that was to come. Nothing to do about that, though.

Suddenly, the first human follower of the Ori came bursting around the corner, his staff weapon clutched tightly in both hands; the device was active and ready to be fired in an instant. The warrior was not quite ready for Artan, laying lower to the ground and propped up against the far wall the way he was – but the dying Jaffa was ready to deal with him, and fired his own weapon at the enemy, killing the man outright and sending his corpse flying back off his feet.

Then there were two more warriors of Ori, racing around the corner together in a pair – they were both Jaffa, and acted faster and with more experience than the first man, managing to loosen off a couple of shots as they charged into the hallway. However, Artan's rapid-fire cannon cut them both down before they had gotten very far, and their bolt-shots weren't aimed at any target in particular anyway.

One more human popped around the corner, and quickly ducked back again when Artan's shots slammed into the wall right by the side of his face. A few long moments later, he stuck his staff weapon around the corner and started firing blindly down towards the Jaffa – a couple of the shots were close to the mark; Artan winced and tried to pull himself tighter in, so his sprawled-out body made less of a target.

Another Ori warrior suddenly made a dashing run across no-man's land down the hall from where they were firing from – Artan's shots chased him across the gap, but none of them caught the man, and soon he was in the same position as his comrade on the other side of the corridor, firing down the hall towards the wounded fighter without exposing himself very much at all to dangerous weapons-fire.

There was little that he could do to change this worsening battlefield situation, and Artan knew in his heart that he had no more time left to act. They were going to kill him soon if he did not do what had to be done – and then, he would die anyway. This was his final sacrifice to the people of his world, and to his fellow warriors, on both sides of the fighting, who had fallen in battle before him.

As he reached out to trigger the bomb by his side, Artan offered up one final prayer to whoever would listen to him, diety or no; for the very soul of this planet to survive beyond the war that had ravaged it so completely... then, the blinding white flash engulfed everything, and the Jaffa warrior's spirit knew true peace at last.

# SG1 #

Outside the High Temple of Tel'mar, and about two miles back through the winding, twisting streets and back alleys of Alden on their way back out of the city, the three members of SG-1 felt the rumbling vibration through the ground. Then, they all glanced back towards the imposing building that they were fleeing from, to catch a blinding, almost painful flash of bright white light rocket out of a massive hole that suddenly, inexplicibly appeared in the side of the temple complex.

A few moments after the painful light started spreading out of this new, gaping huge hole in the temple building, a deafening, torrential roar ripped through the city, forcing Daniel, Teal'c and Cam all to drop down onto their knees, and shove their hands over their ears in sharp agony. Then, the sound and the light retracted inwards, and the towering behemoth of a building began to fold in on itself, huge clumps of stonework and epic carvings crumbling down into dusty, complete ruin.

For the longest time, the three of them were shaking off the ringing screech that rang in their ears, and it was hard for any of them to understand what each other were saying – but this was only temporary. Artan, it had seemed, had come through in the end and completed the last part of their mission, giving up his own life in the process. He had stopped the responding Ori followers from mounting an immediate chase after the team, and had destroyed the High Temple completely. _Way to go, Artan!_

Cam was, as he remembered his grandma saying once or twice, as_ happy as a pig in mud_. He couldn't help but chuckle out aloud at the analogy.

"What?" Daniel asked sharply. By the look on his face, the good doctor obviously didn't understand what could be so humorous, under the circumstances.

"Oh nothing," Mitchell answered with a cheesy little grin. "Just glad that Artan went out the way he ought to, is all – now come on, you guys. We have to keep moving. Can't just stop now and watch the fireworks."

The team set out again on their journey out of the city proper. There were still dangers ahead – no doubt because of what had happened to the High Temple, the followers of the Ori were going to be even sharper and more alert than usual.

They knew now that their borders had been penetrated and there was an enemy presence in this city. That made this final part of their mission – the escape – even more hazardous.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Far below her, the devestation wrought by the _USS Odyssey's_ railgun systems must have been immense indeed, but Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter supposed that even this assessment was somewhat of an understatement.

The high-velocity weapons' uranium-tipped rounds must have been tearing up the ground down there to a hellish degree, and she sure didn't want to trade places with any poor soul that hadn't managed to get under the umbrella of protection the Ori anti-air gun positions provided.

Sensors and high-imaging, sturdy video-camera ports along the underside of the battle-cruiser were making it blatantly clear that, although their bombardment from orbit above hadn't managed to seriously weaken the Ori followers' shields that protected their dangerous cannon emplacements, they did effectively carve up whole battalions of enemy ground troops.

And, it had seemed that a constant, unceasing attack on an Ori weapons platform effectively negated its offensive potential – the cannon's shields couldn't be powered down to the minimum levels required to fire its main gun, or it would be subsequently destroyed.

A small handful of their adversaries on the planet far below had tried to strike back against them while they had been under direct attack from the railgun batteries of the _Odyssey_, and had paid for their mistake with their lives, as well as the loss of their advanced gun-site. The foolhardy tactic, though valiant, had not been tried again.

The Ori rebels were clearly helpless now to stop the Tau'ri ship high above their positions from continuing to penetrate their territory. Sam had, in the end, come up with the right course of action, and it had probably saved the lives of her teammates on SG-1... if they weren't already dead already.

The sudden thought that they had all come so far along in their mission, only to have the rest of her team killed before they could arrive on the scene to rescue them, gnawed at Carter's gut like a vicious animal, tearing at her stomach from the inside. She bit down on the agonized cry of frustration and panic that threatened to boil up out of her.

_This was no time to lose it, damnit! _Sam snapped at herself with vehement passion. People were counting on her to get them through this; and Carter was holding herself, now as always, to the exacting standards she always set for everything that she began. Failure, quite simply, was not an option, especially with so much at stake.

Sam squinted at the screen of raw data and sensor readings that were coming through, from all over the ship. In all, their shield levels were down to 68, but this was much better than anything she could have hoped for, once the power of the first battery opening up on them had been properly assertained. She had truly believed that the Odyssey would be beaten back and humbled by the network of anti-air weaponry arrayed against them... before the solution of overwhelming suppressive fire had come to her, and they had implemented the theory with such resounding success.

Now, repairs were being made to their vessel's damaged systems, and the shield strength was slowly working its way back up. So far, high 70s... dropping back down a notch now and then, but quickly moving back up again a few long moments later. At last, things had stabilized at 79 compacity, and from what Carter read of things, that was about as good as they were going to get it without a long stint in the dry-docks back on Earth.

Still however, there was one bit of cheery news – they'd made it past the last of the Ori weapons platforms far below, and within a half-minute, would be completely out of their effective range of fire. None of their positions had even attempted to open up on them since the fourth site had been obliterated in a maelstrom of railgun slugs, and that had been almost ten minutes previously.

Since then the trip had been somewhat routine – an Ori weapons site would be picked up on sensors, combat intelligence programmes would flag the target for immediate attention, one of the technicians on the bridge would designate railgun positions to fire on the platform, the offensive site would be effectively 'de-fanged' because it was under direct attack by the space-craft high above and couldn't do anything but maintain its defense shields, they would fly right on by overhead unmolestered.

_Wash, rinse, repeat,_ Sam Carter thought with an ache in her head that was almost as bad as the beastly gremlin trying to rip through her stomach. Damn all this, she wished she could be on the ground with the rest of her team, fighting through the same battle they were faced with...

At least, they were passing by the last of the Ori's main defenses... as far as their vessel's sensors could tell, at any rate. Yes, it was possible they still had other special weapons lined up in reserve, but something told Sam that, despite everything, this was not a full-scale Ori attack in their galaxy yet, and it was not their way in any event to be so covert, as to conceal or hold back the full arsenal.

Well that was fine, well and good. She guessed that, later back on Earth, there were going to be a big hubbub over this whole mess – a lot of the Intel guys were going to be in an uproar over the whole mess, trying to outguess and outplay themselves into a quagmire over just what the Ori strategy was in this new, intergalactic war Stargate Command was facing.

But at the moment, that was a future problem to be reckoned with. She had much bigger things to deal with, as it stood.

Like... just _HOW_ were they going to locate the rest of SG-1, once they were hovering high over the city of Alden?

Carter hadn't quite managed to come up with a solution to _that_ problem yet...

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

They weren't going to make it all the way out of the city without drawing attention... much to the disappointment and chagrin of the team's new leader, Lt Colonel Cameron Mitchell. The order to stop immediately, bellowed out by a mean-looking Jaffa thug that came out from one of the adjourning alleyways as Cam and Daniel Jackson raced past, trying to keep pace with Teal'c up ahead, could hardly have been obeyed.

The warrior called back down the alley – to fellow city guards, of that they all had no doubt – before giving chase to the two men on foot, who galloped away without any thought to stealth or makeshift concealment of any kind. The game was up, and SG-1 was now well and truly exposed. If they didn't act fast, the city guard detachments, all loyal Ori followers to the core, were going to surround them and cut off all escape.

"Oh man, this was _not_ the way I'd hoped this would go down!" Mitchell complained listlessly, as he ducked low just before an energy-bolt fired from the Jaffa zipped right over his head. It was a very lucky move that he'd done that right at that moment – Cam hardly wanted to contemplate how close to death he had just come. He pulled his 9mm Beretta sidearm out and pointed it haphazardly over his right shoulder, squeezing off a couple of random shots back at the pursuing enemy as the three members of SG-1 ran for their lives.

"What? Well, I think this has every hallmark of a Cameron Mitchell plan, myself!" Dr Jackson replied, smirking with satirical humour even under such dire, life-or-death circumstances.

Teal'c, just a few yards in front of them, came up short all of a sudden, and the two men behind him almost came crashing headlong into the imposing Jaffa warrior. There though, up ahead of them in the centre of the street, was a large Goa'uld heavy weapons platform, behind which two Jaffa stood, about to discharge the device.

Cam didn't even have to say anything – they all knew instinctively what to do. _Scatter, find some cover and fight back, hard!_

Because, beyond the heavy cannon, was about thirty armed Ori followers, a motley force of Jaffa and humans, who wanted nothing more than to slaughter the unbelievers who had managed to penetrate their territory so deeply. This whole situation was spinning right out of control...

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

"Sir, I'm picking up multiple energy sources down on the surface below, originating from somewhere in the western section of the city," one of the Air Force officers on the bridge said in a low, brief and generally emotionless tone. "Looks like there's a heavy firefight down there. There's at least fifty lifesigns in that vicinity, with many more detected converging on that location from all directions."

"Copy that, Captain," Colonel Emerson said serenely. He leapt up out of the command chair and stepped right up to the clear reinforced glass panelling that looked out into the sky, and stars, around their ship, which hovered in low orbit above the planet designated as PJ3-176. Down below – _FAR_ below – was a city, Alden, and somewhere in that city, they _believed_, was the three missing members of SG-1.

Paul Emerson had a decision to make.

At last he turned back around to look out across the bridge of his vessel. Colonel Samantha Carter was staring at him expectantly from where she sat, at the computer console she had practically taken over from one of his technical experts after being rescued herself from the planet's surface some hours earlier. Her eyes blazed with the intensity and passion the Colonel had come to expect from her. She was ready to go down there and get her comrades back... just like Paul would expect from any good Airman.

"Okay... Colonel Carter, you have a go." Sam practically propelled herself out of her char, and flew across the room towards the exit from the command and control centre of the _Odyssey_. "Take Conners and a dozen ground-pounders with you, Sam. And good luck, all of you. Looks like you'll be going down to meet a warm receptioning party..."

"Thank-you, sir," Carter replied. Then she paused and, before crossing over the threshold and out into the corridor beyond, she stopped for a moment, turned back, and added, "For everything."

The Colonel nodded solemnly, and watched on as Colonel Carter slipped out and down towards the teleportation room.

# SG1 #

Sam Carter felt almost buoyant as she headed down the twisting corridors and ducked through under bulkheads to make her way towards the teleportation room. Along the way, she collected her supplies from one of the ship's numerous armouries, positioned at key locations throughout the vessel. Sliding a new magazine of rounds into the breech of the P-90 assault rifle and clipping a few fragmentation grenades onto the front of her Kevlar vest, Sam felt more excited and pumped with adrenaline than she had in a long while – and couldn't help herself when she smiled a wolfish, predatory smile.

It was time to go down there and bring her boys back home. The Colonel knew how to lead troops into battle, and this was the one fight she was almost looking forward to facing. Being out of the fight had been more difficult on her than she cared to acknowledge... and it was only when Carter was getting back into the fray when it became fully apparent how achingly difficult the last few trials had been, on a deep personal level more than anything.

_Well, time to brush all that crap aside and step up to the plate, damnit! _Sam thought to herself. She entered the teleportation room, and there already gathered around in small clusters waiting for her were the fighting men and women accompanying Carter down onto the planet's surface, far below.

They were all geared up and ready for a hard battle ahead. Each and every trooper Colonel Carter looked at had their hard, grim-looking 'game face' on, and she could tell by the silent, confident air in which they all carried themselves about the place that they were well and truly ready to follow their leader into the mouth of hell. Just like any SF worth their money would be, to get back some of their own people trapped and cut off from escape by the enemy...

Conner was the only one out of the fourteen of them, including Colonel Carter herself, that showed any outward sign of nerves... and when she glanced across at the Major before joining the rest of the unit in the centre of the room to be teleported down onto the world below, Sam didn't like it.

Frank Conner had risked his life extracting her from the fortress of Tel'mar before it had been destroyed along with a number of these troopers around her now, Carter knew that.

But she'd also come to know him as being a cautious, reserved tactician – this guy sometimes thought too much for his own good, especially in certain combat situations where there was always going to be a large degree of risk. Sam had a feeling that she would have to keep an eye out for this guy in the future...

# SG1 #

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

The Jaffa warrior fired the cannon again, and a second huge clump of dirt flew up in Cam's face, barely a few yards from where he was crouched behind a corner wall, spraying a long burst of bullets back down the street towards the advancing enemy forces. A couple of the human troops in the front row of the oncoming detachment went down, torn open by the lethal high-velocity rounds fired from his automatic weapon as Mitchell tried to provide suppressive fire for the others.

Daniel and Teal'c raced out into the middle of the roadway while Colonel Mitchell was hammering away at the front rows of the Ori followers bearing down upon them all, and pulled the pins of the live grenades they each clutched in their right hands. The two men threw their weapons high and straight at the horde ahead of them, then ran back over to their own positions of cover as fast as they could move.

The grenades sailed through the air at such a languid pace that Cam thought they would detonate far too soon – but they stayed intact, and landed amongst the enemy further back behind the front of their formation, to explode with horrifying effectiveness right inside the depths of their packed group.

Bodies and body parts were hurled high above the detonations, and the screams of the wounded and moans of the dying poured out of the enemy compliment, now in staggered disarray, threatened to drown out the rallying cries of some of the surviving enemy leadership. The two Jaffa manning the heavy gun were stunned and disorientated by the blasts, but immediately after they got their senses back together, the warriors were firing back down upon SG-1 with renewed vigour.

They were aiming better, too. The wall behind which Mitchell was sheltered was hit a couple of times by their energy-bolts – huge sections of masonry and cement were blown out of the side of the building, and the impact of the blasts reverberated through the entire structure.

_This is not looking good_, Cam thought bitterly to himself with venomous disgust, wondering quietly just how the hell they were going to pull themselves out of _this_ mess. _And now, here comes the self-doubting and personal recriminations..._

Suddenly though, there was a shrieking sound of displaced air shooting past, as a rocket-prepelled grenade launcher discharged further up the road from where their team was hunkered down, and tore in towards the attacking enemy. The Goa'uld heavy weapons platform was the target, and the two Jaffa gunners manning it weren't quite fast enough to get out of the way of the deadly little piece of ordnance barrelling down upon their position.

The explosive round struck its target, and the weapon, the two warriors that controlled it, and a couple of other unfortunate combatants that were near enough to the cannon were all engulfed in a huge, flaming-hot fireball.

"Hey guys, I thought you could use a hand getting out of this mess!" a familiar voice shouted out at them from the direction of the unexpected help, and Mitchell, who had quietly contemplated just how long they all had to left to live, broke into a huge, relieved grin.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

_Planet PJ3-176,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

"Sam! Oh thank God, Sam you're alright!" Daniel shouted out, from his hiding position on the other side of the street. He looked over at Carter and gave her a broad, relieved grin, just before ducking back as a staff weapon bolt fired from further up the street struck the wall by his head.

Daniel dropped back behind his cover as far as he could, then took up cautious aim around the side of the wall and picked off the man who had fired the salvo in the first place, hitting the warrior high in the chest-plate he wore and sending the enemy combatant staggering back from a full burst of bullets. He was dead before hitting the ground.

Colonel Carter moved up with the rest of her complement of Special Forces soldiers, firing short, concise bursts from their automatic rifles as they continued to advance against the depleted, disheartened enemy. The bodies were piling up further up the road, where the Ori followers were finally beginning to give ground against the onslaught, and in some cases break and run from the fresh reinforcements. Sam was able to race up to Colonel Mitchell's side, and hunker down beside the man as he smiled and gave her a hearty pat on the back.

"Damn Carter, nice to _see_ you!" Cam said with a laugh, as he lined up another Jaffa in his sights and squeezed off a short burst of bullets, cutting the warrior down as he struggled to fire at the oncoming Spec Ops troops. "And who are these boys you've brought along for the ride?"

"Special Forces soldiers, sir, from the _Odyssey_. The vessel's high above us right now, ready to beam the whole group onboard once I give the signal," Sam replied. She clipped a small locator beacon to the side of Mitchell's vest, and he nodded his thanks as she rushed across the road towards Teal'c and Daniel, keeping low and running fast as bolter fire from the few remaining enemy fighters zipped past.

"Colonel Carter, multiple contacts coming in from all directions!" came the slightly panicked voice of Major Frank Conner over the radio-net, as Sam almost crash-tackled Teal'c in her desperation to reach the cover of the two other members of SG-1's current positions. The big Jaffa fighter pulled her in out of the dangers of open ground, and she was able to slide into a tightly-squeezed spot between the two other men.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy fighting crackling over the connection between her and the Major had Sam riveted to Conner's plight. The man's voice suddenly cried out from her radio, "Carter, they're everywhere! We can't hold them off for- ARRGGHH!"

"Dammit!" Sam swore, as she hurriedly opened up a pouch-pocket on the front of her vest to get at the last two little locator chips for the final two team-members of SG-1. "Teal'c, Daniel, the _Odyssey's_ in orbit overhead. Here put these on, we have to get out of here before our position's overrun."

The two men quickly attached the beacons provided to different parts of their bodies, then Carter patched in a signal to the tech officer manning the teleporter controls aboard the ship high overhead. "We're ready down here. We need to go now, and there might be wounded incoming."

Lt Colonel Sam Carter tried to stop herself from shaking uncontrollably from the tension and the concern for Conner as the Asgard-designed beaming technology picked her, and the rest of the Tau'ri troops all around the immediate area, up off the surface of the planet.

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

The medical orderlies were all already on standby just outside the operations area in the teleportation room. When Sam looked around the men and women all packed in together on the teleporter's dias, she saw almost instantly where Major Frank Conner was – he was lying amonst his comrades, who were all packed around him trying to help in some way or other.

The poor soldier had taken a full staff weapon blast to the side of his body, where a huge gaping black hole had been blown through his Kevlar vest. The smell of seared flesh and burning leather was clearly evident in the air around them all, and Conner, mercifully, had passed out from the pain after a short, fitful bout of screaming in agony.

With professional speed and competence, the medical crew onboard the _Odyssey_ went about their business, forcing all the military personnel back and sweeping in to lift the wounded SF up onto a nearby gurney they'd wheeled in. Then, the men and women started to strip away all the combat garb the soldier had on him, as well as some of his outer clothing, as one of the ship's doctors carefully took a look at the fallen man's wound.

Colonel Carter, relieved beyond words at the success of the mission and the rescue of her dear friends, couldn't help but gringe at what had happened to Frank Conner. Something had told her he wouldn't come out of this operation unscathed, and yet despite everything, there hadn't been a single thing she could have done to stop it. She knew in her heart that there was nothing that could have been done any differently to protect her fellow comrade, but still that didn't stop the feeling of guilt that gripped Sam in an agonizing vice.

Cameron came up to stand beside her, and they both watched on in companionable silence as Major Conner was initally treated for his wound, then taken away on the gurney back to the infirmary onboard the vessel, with a small flock of doctors and nurses in close attendance. "Sam, you did all you could," the Lieutenant Colonel said simply. "You led the rescue team as best any of us could have done it, and you all fought with professionalism and skill to get us out of there before we were overrun. Trust me, you saved our bacon down there. Conner helped too, before he went down. Without you all coming down when you did, we wouldn't have lasted ten minutes longer."

The words that Mitchell spoke were true and from the heart, and Sam knew and appreciated them. But still, she didn't feel very consolible at the moment, despite everything. She knew the aching she felt inside wouldn't go away until she found out if Frank Conner would pull through. Carter followed Colonel Mitchell back after Teal'c and Daniel, through the corridors and bulkheads of the _USS Odyssey_ on their way to the bridge of the ship, to their audience with Colonel Paul Emerson.

# SG1 #

"SG-1, I'm glad to finally see you all together at last," Colonel Emerson said with a slight smile, as he stood up to give the two officers who walked onto the bridge of his vessel the proper respect of a smart, punctual salute. Carter and Cam Mitchell returned the action in kind, while Teal'c and Dr Jackson simply but gratefully nodded. "We were all worried that it would be too late by the time we got here..."

"Well sir, it almost was," Cam replied with a huff, "but luckily, we were able to hold out until the cavalry arrived." There was a pause, then, "Thanks for coming all this way for us, Colonel."

"Nothing to thank me for, Mitchell," Paul Emerson said, waving the notion away with a brush of his right hand, "it's all part of the job description." Then, the commanding officer of the _Odyssey_ turned his attention to Colonel Samantha Carter, and said, "Sam, you did some mighty fine work out there to get the rest of your team back. What happened to Conner, by all reports, was not your fault and there was nothing more to be done about it. Frank knew the risks just like everybody else, and he took the spot on that extraction team because it was what he did, and he was good at his job. Our medical personnel will do their best to save his life, but this is sometimes what happens out here on the front lines. Sometimes, not everyone makes it back home. But there was nothing that could have been done any differently to stop what happened."

"Yes sir," Carter agreed, though she gulped back the moan that threatened to slip out. She knew that one of the things that made her a great scientist, as well as a great frontline explorer and soldier, was her emotions... but they were also Sam's undoing. The soothing, encouraging words of others sometimes helped to alleviate the guilt and anguish she felt, at times, but only sometimes.

"Now, how about we get the hell out of here and head on home? Any objections?" Emerson asked the four members of SG-1. There were none, just as he had expected.

# SG1 #

_In orbit over the space-docks of Remarz Tor, onboard the Ha'tak mothership,  
the Milky Way Galxay._

"We are ready to depart, My Lord," Denamor said in a respectfully hushed tone, as the Goa'uld Tel'mar sat slightly hunched over on his throne at the rear of the Pel'tak, the mothership's primary command centre. The vessel was still docked in low orbit over the industrial sprawl that was Remarz Tor, but at a wave of the supreme ruler's Unas claw, the clamps that held the Ha'tak in place were slowly retracted, and the vessel began to slowly pull alway from the main structure where Goa'uld ships were built and maintained on this planet.

The final Ha'tak mothership that the once-revered Goa'uld Lord was escaping from this world in was still heavily battle-scarred, and its compliment of Jaffa and human crew were the minimum number required to control all of the vessel's functions. The servants of Tel'mar went about their duties in a hushed silence, but there was none of the kinetic energy and buzzing feeling of excitement about them like the glory days of the past. Lord Tel'mar couldn't help but pick up on this as well, and despite himself, because of all the setbacks over the past months and years, he felt humbled by his own followers' gloomy outlook.

"We are detecting the Tau'ri warship on long-range sensors, My Lord," one of the Jaffa at a control panel said.

"Grr... where are they now? Running from us in fear, I wouldn't doubt!" Tel'mar huffed in disgust, as he pulled himself out of his depressing thoughts and rose up from his chair. Stepping down off the podium that dominated the back of the Pel'tak room, he continued, "Bring the Tau'ri vessel up on the viewscreen, and give me a bearing and distance on the ship as soon as you have one."

At Tel'mar's command, the viewscreen in the front section of the command centre changed from the starry, cloudless evening sky around their Ha'tak mothership, to show the Tau'ri ship in the far distance. The Lord ordered a more clarified view of the vessel, and a few moments later he had one; the ship became much closer and more pronounced in the viewscreen, and at last the Goa'uld ruler was able to see the opposing warship that had done so much damage and destruction to his empire on this world.

The Unas host bared is teeth and let out a low growl in anger, as the Goa'uld symbiote inside tried to wrestle with the intense rage building up within. The Jaffa at the control port rattled off the heading and distance of the enemy vessel from their own position, and Tel'mar, without a moment's thought or hesitation, ordered that they close the gap between their two ships. "Prepare for combat! Ready all sections, and prepare all death glider wings for immediate launch on my command!"

It was time, at last, to meet their foe head-on; although it was not a fight that Tel'mar himself had been expecting, but a week before, it was a more even match than any battle he could hope to wage against the insidious, immensely-powerful Ori followers. They would engage the enemy ship from just beyond the upper atmosphere of the planet, and destroy the vessel from that vantage-point with all of their firepower. If necessary, squadrons of death gliders could be launched from the Ha'tak's fighter bays, to take the battle right to their adversaries and give the noble warriors of Tel'mar a true taste of warfare. But the outcome was not in doubt, at least to the Goa'uld Lord.

It was a perfect opportunity to strike the warriors from Earth, now; their vessel was almost out of Ori-controlled territory, and they were too busy concentrating their weapons-fire on suppressing the Ori's gun positions to be worried about much else. There was even a chance that the ship could be damaged from engaging with the Ori followers and their powerful new weaponry. He knew that, either way, the outcome of this engagement with the Tau'ri vessel was hardly in question. There was no chance that they would escape... if he was to lose this world to the Ori, Tel'mar thought bitterly, then the humans of Earth would suffer greatly along with him!

# SG1 #

_In orbit over PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

"Sir, we've almost cleared the Ori gun enplacements... but I'm picking up something faint on the long-range sensors," one of the junior officers onboard the _Odyssey's_ bridge said curtly. "I'm afraid I cannot identify the bogey definitively, but there is a high probability that this signal return is a vessel of some kind, that it is hostile, and that it's on an intercept course for our ship."

Emerson didn't hesitate for a second. "Red alert, prepare for engagement with hostile vessel." Then, to the officer that had brought up the alert, a young female lieutenant, Paul said, "Sandy, I want more than 'there's _something_ out there' ASAP. We can't operate on limited long-range sensors, not with a possible enemy vessel out there ready to descend upon us. Understand?"

"Yes sir," the junior-grade officer replied crisply, then went back to her control console. Colonel Emerson sat back in his command chair, and waited for the inevitable. His space-craft was still not nearly up to full specs, thanks to the initial barrage of Ori weapons-fire from the cannon sites far below, but his crew were doing a fantastic effort to get back the myriad of systems they had repaired, so he knew there was really no justification to complain. However, he was the C.O of this starship, and as such he expected nothing less than perfection out of his people, without fail on a 24-7 basis. It wasn't about him being a tyrant or a power-hungry monster; it was about Colonel Paul Emerson commanding the best of the best, in one of the most hostile frontline postings imaginable, and it was about him trying his damn best to bring everyone back home alive.

It took less than five minutes to get the sensors cleared up, which again was nothing short of an absolute miracle. As soon as they came online, the shout came out from the same lieutenant who had put out the first trepidatious warning - "Sir, a Goa'uld-designed Ha'tak mothership has been detected, bearing down on our position, heading 11814. Less than twenty seconds until they're within firing range!"

"Copy that, Lieutenant," Emerson said grimly. He had little doubt that this mothership was a hostile vessel... probably one of Tel'mar's, he reasoned. They weren't going to let them get away from here without some kind of challenge, if not an out-and-out brawl. The Colonel felt a sickly dread gripping his stomach. The _Odyssey_ wasn't up to standards for a hard, bitter fight. Paul wondered to himself if his beloved vessel could stand up to an all or nothing battle with a Ha'tak, after everything they had all been through up to this moment.

He hoped desperately that they could, because something told the Colonel they would probably have to.

# SG1 #

The first impact from the Ha'tak mothership's opening salvos almost sent Daniel, Teal'c, and the young male soldier walking towards them both from the opposite direction stumbling to the floor. Teal'c had to grab hold of Dr Jackson, in fact, to stop the archaeologist from crashing to the ground. Flustered, Daniel thanked the Jaffa with a few quiet words, then they quickly headed on their route through the bulkhead up in front of them, heading towards the briefing room where they were to meet up with the other two members of SG-1, as well as some of the senior staff onboard the _Odyssey_ for their regular after-mission debriefing. It was always best for all concerned to get the debriefs done and out of the way soon after a mission, no matter if it was a mundane, run-of-the-mill op, or a life and death battle for survival.

There were three more strikes that rocked the vessel severely, before Daniel and Teal'c at last ran into Sam and Cameron Mitchell as they came bolting out of the briefing room. Cam pulled them both up short, and before they could jump in with any questions or statements about the attack or what they were going to do about it, he started talking, "There's a Goa'uld mothership out there somewhere boys, layin' in the hurt, and Emerson isn't too sure how long we can hold out - seems the _Odyssey_ went through the wars on their way in to pick us up from Alden. So, with the Colonel's permission already given, I've managed to secure us an X-302. T-Man, you're the top dog on this one, I'll fly shotgun with ya."

"What about us?" Dr Jackson asked, indicating himself and Colonel Carter.

Sam jumped in on this one before Mitchell had a chance to. "Listen Daniel, all the X-302s are being launched out of the fighter bays of this ship to engage with the death gliders the mothership is throwing against us. The crew of the _Odyssey_ are trying to bracket the Ha'tak with railgun bombardments, then even throw in a naquadah-enhanced contemplorary warhead or nuke for good measure. There is little that we can do to assist anyone, but Colonel Emerson says we are welcome to join him on the bridge - so long as we keep out of the way."

Jackson nodded, then SG-1 split up yet again. Teal'c and Cam headed off to join up with one of the X-302 squadrons launching out of the left fighter bay, to take their position as the second lead-out space-fighter, in the dogfight with the Goa'uld-designed death glider spacecraft; while Daniel and Sam made their way hurriedly up towards the front of the vessel, to join the senior commanders and see the battlespace from a somewhat omnipitant viewpoint that the bridge provided.

The ordered chaos of the vessel in battle conditions was hectic in itself, but Sam and Daniel making their way up through the rush of people towards the heart of the action, the ship's bridge, was nothing short of an uphill fight against the tide of human traffic. But they managed to get there, in the end, as one of the controllers announced the launching of the first wave of X-302 fighters against the mass of incoming death gliders.

"How long until the two formations meet?" Colonel Emerson demanded, as Carter and Dr Jackson slowly began filtering around the room, trying to get a lay of the tactical situation while keeping for the most part out of everyone else's road.

"One minute twenty-six seconds and counting," a technician replied. The two formations of space fighter-craft, the 'friendly' X-302s in a nice, packed blue-colored cluster, while the Goa'uld death gliders were in a couple of slightly larger red-colored groups, dominated one of the larger tactical screens out the front of the bridge near the opaque observation window that looked directly out into the dark void of space. The two members of SG-1 couldn't help but wonder amongst themselves which one of those blue icons that indicated X-302s in flight was the craft Teal'c and Cam Mitchell had commandeered.

"Alright, prepare to fire forward silos and railgun batteries," the _Odyssey's_ C.O said calmly. "Target the Ha'tak mothership. I want that Goa'uld vessel effectively taken out of the fight, before our fighters start dog-fighting those death gliders."


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

_In space above PJ3-176,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Teal'c and Cameron Mitchell's X-302 space-fighter was the second-lead craft in the first formation of four, at the head of the larger squadron that led the advance against the oncoming death glider groups bearing down on their position. The Jaffa warrior flew the Tau'ri designed and built X-302 like an ace pilot, which was exactly what Teal'c was even in this newer fighter craft. In the backseat, Cam hunkered down and pulled up the long-range scanners, making sure to pick out and designate missiles to each of the four targets they would take down with their initial missile salvos. The squadron's first punch would be the most telling - the Tau'ri force had to make their hits count, or else the numerical superiority of the enemy forces would bring them all down.

"You ready for a fight up there, T-Man?" Mitchell asked in his usual boastful, confident demeanor.

"Indeed I am, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied. "Are _you_ adequately prepared as well?"

The Jaffa smirked slightly behind his oxygen mask, which like the Colonel's was firmly fastened up against his helmet, locked into place and pumping clear fresh breathable air down into his lungs. A bit of dry wit was his way of getting back at Cam for his antics... the young leader of SG-1 (at least, when compared to Teal'c, Mitchell _was_ young) was so much like his predecessor, Jack O'Neill, in some undeniable ways.

"Hahah, touche good buddy," Cam 'Shaft' Mitchell conceded with a grin of his own, hidden as well behind his own mask. Then, it was right down to business: "The first targets I've designated are almost within range now. We're ten seconds from weapons-release."

"Copy that," Teal'c said. The same status was reported by numerous other X-302 'backseaters' in the formation, as they all closed the distance between themselves and the enemy death gliders. Then at least, they started to cross that invisible barrier and come into range of their foes - missile payloads were already locked onto their targets before this time, it was only a matter of pressing a button for each weapons system to be engaged.

Rocket boosters propelled the missiles away one at a time, sending the weapons shooting off into space ahead of each one of the X-302s out in the lead, on at time, with each separate delivery system targeting an individual death glider for destruction. By this time, they were all still well out of range of the enemy's own guns - staff weapon variants that were four times larger than the normal, more common kind used by the Jaffa warriors.

However, the death gliders did not have the capability of targeting enemy vessels from such great distance like the Tau'ri did, or have any ordnance that could be used in the same 'fire-and-forget' manner that the Earth pilots used their missiles. Because of this, few if any of the enemy combatants flying in the lead group of death gilders were killed in the first strikes without even realizing the danger they faced.

"Right-on!" Mitchell exclaimed, as he saw their own two medium-ranged missiles impact against their own targeted enemy craft, blowing the death gliders completely apart before either one of them had a chance to evade the rocket-propelled weaponry. He counted up the initial kills - and was very happy with the outcome of their attack so far. "Okay, out of all that, at least a third of the death glider formation slightly in front have been taken out; that's about fourteen enemy fighters. A pretty damn fine effort, hey Teal'c?"

"That it is, Cameron Mitchell, but most of our own craft have used at least half of their missile compliment now," Teal'c countered, instantly bringing the Lieutenant Colonel's jubilant mood crashing back down to reality. "The tide of battle, and the eventual success of this engagement, is yet to be determined. In all likelihood it will be contested in close-combat."

These words, though spoken from the heart and without any preamble whatsoever, were definitely _not_ what Mitchell wanted to hear. There was no better aerial combat force in the galaxy than an experienced Jaffa death glider wing, and the Colonel knew it.

# SG1 #

_In space above PJ3-176, onboard the Ha'tak mothership,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Denamor watched on through the Goa'uld viewscreen as the fighting raged on out in the near-distance. Formations of death gliders were in pitched battle against the Tau'ri's own space-fighter variants - nothing more than a second-rate copy of the original Goa'uld version. As far as he could tell, though, the human forces from Earth were winning out against the Jaffa/human warriors that flew for Lord Tel'mar.

The First Prime had only counted two of their enemy lost to the heated conflict so far, to the eighteen death gliders destroyed up to that moment - one-fourth of their fighting complement.

The exchange of fire between their own vessel and the Tau'ri warship was also picking up in intensity, as both huge juggernaut rose up over the larger dogfight that was spreading out between them so that they could strike at each other without the risk of hitting any of their own people. The Ha'tak's powerful shield-generators were at full power, though, so the two different kinds of weapons-fire the Tau'ri of Earth were throwing at them was doing no damage to the mothership itself, but the ancient vessel was slowly beginning to deteriorate under the constant barrage.

Despite the promise from Lord Tel'mar that the mothership had been completely repaired and that they would in the end triumph against at least one of their opponents here before finally leaving this world to the Ori, Denamor couldn't help but have his doubts. The humans they were fighting against had done so very much to bring about the downfall of the Goa'uld System Lords as they had ruled for millenia; Denamor, rightly, feared them for what they had done, and what he feared they would accomplish in this battle.

He turned to face Tel'mar, who was seated on the throne at the back of the Pel'tak, with one pawed hand resting on the arm of the gold-plated chair, the other propping up the side of his head, so that the Goa'uld Lord was looking at the digitally-rendered battle spread out across the viewscreen on a slight angle. Slowly, the First Prime approached his Master, and took a position just to the Unas' side. Then, Denamor leaned down so he could whisper into Tel'mar's ear - what he had to say was for the Goa'uld's hearing, and no-one else's in that command center.

"My Lord Tel'mar, I fear that the Tau'ri are too strong for us this day. It will be a close battle, bitterly fought by your loyal Jaffa and human followers, but in my heart I know that the vile enemies from Earth will defeat us here - IF we choose to stand and fight..."

The words almost seemed to burn through his tongue like acid – they were agonizing to speak out loud, but the human servant of the Goa'uld Lord knew he had to say them, and speak honestly to Tel'mar about what he thought of this last vengeful strike against the Tau'ri. Compared to the Ori followers they had left behind down on the planet below, the humans from Earth were the weaker foe; but he honestly believed the few forces they had left would not do the job against this enemy, even so. They would probably all die here if they kept up the engagement for much longer.

Tel'mar only growled menacingly in reply. He looked straight up sharply into Denamor's eyes, and for the longest time the First Prime of Tel'mar thought his Master was going to rip him apart right there and then. But then, finally, the Goa'uld smiled just a little bit, and the man's shoulders sagged back in relief – he was not about to be killed, at least not at that moment and not at Tel'mar's own hands.

"Denamor, do not concern yourself with this assault. There is a plan set in place, in case this battle does not play out the way that we both wish it to. Everything is prepared, and all eventualities have been considered," the Unas promised.

Denamor returned his Lord's smile with one of his own, nodded once, then rose up and stepped down off the podium to walk over to one of the spare consoles, near the front of the Pel'tak chamber. He had known Tel'mar would have made arrangements, even now at this late an hour in their escape – the Goa'uld were notoriously selfish and egocentric.

A contingency plan to get away from the Ha'tak if the battle did not play out as a victory for their forces would have been one of Tel'mar's first objectives upon reaching the space-docks at Remarz Tor. The First Prime now set himself about his duty – this battle against the Tau'ri still had to be fought. Now, at least Denamor saw a window of opportunity to escape, if the fears that he felt were fully realized in the end...

# SG1 #

_In space above PJ3-176,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

The Goa'uld-designed death glider banked and turned to try and shake Teal'c off its tail, but the skilled Jaffa kept the enemy fighter lined up in his sights. He fired two twin-bursts into the vessel at close-range, once he was confident that the Jaffa pilot in the other ship had no time to maneuver to escape the shots. Both energy-bolts struck their intended target, scything through the cockpit compartment and causing severe secondary explosions that tore the vessel to pieces.

"Yeah Teal'c, now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Cam Mitchell exhorted, thumping his right hand down on his knee and laughing happily. "Just like the Marianas Turkey-Shoot, but this time it's the space-combat version."

Teal'c stayed silent, simply bringing their X-302 space-fighter around and back into the fold of the larger battle progressing off to the side. The two enemy formations had merged with their own group in combat, and now everything had degenerated into a bitter dogfight the likes of which Colonel Mitchell had never seen or imagined - not even the Antarctic mission, when his old squadron of X-302s had taken on the best in Anubis' armada back on Earth in direct battle, could compare to this.

There were personal conflicts being waged all over the battlespace, as desperate pilots on both sides tried to stay one step ahead of their adversaries, and stay that little bit further ahead of death. The twisting wreckage of a number of already-destroyed death gliders littered the area in which their epic fight was being waged. Teal'c did his best to pilot their own vessel right into the jaws of the best - straight into the heart of the battle, where the numbers were decidedly against the Earth vessels, and the Jaffa had undoubted numerical superiority.

Firing one snap-shot that took off the wing of a death glider as they tore on past it, the Jaffa Teal'c came charging in on another enemy vessel, flying in towards it at top speed. When they were almost nose-to-nose with each other, and with no sign of either one slowing down or turning, Teal'c snapped off another quick twin-shot. One of the energy-bolts struck the death glider dead-on, cleaving right through the entire length of the vessel and exploding deep in the heart it's superstructure. The flaming debris suddenly flared up right in front of them, spreading out from the point where the death glider had once been, but Teal'c punched up the throttle and their X-302 shot right through it.

Two more death gliders came sweeping in from the left side, sharply turning to attack from a higher arc than their own space-fighter. Teal'c had to sent their vessel into a very steep, sudden banking turn, then a vicious loop. The G-forces exerted against their bodies were severely minimized by the inertial dampeners built into all X-302-model craft, but there was still some major push against their bodies – the two grunted and moaned as they took the punishment put down upon them both, but they managed to shake the pair of enemy craft off their tail for the time being. They were still in pursuit, but not so close behind their X-302 anymore that they were almost touching.

One of their 'friendly' brother X-302 fighters came tearing in with a strafing run on the two death gliders – a burst of energy weapons-fire from under the nose of the Tau'ri space-craft, and the leftmost death glider was torn completely apart.

Teal'c jammed their X-302's breaks on, and suddenly their craft went from full military-thrust right back down to a complete stop. The fighter lurched violently under the straining force of coming to such a sudden halt, but what the Jaffa warrior had been planning came off without a hitch – the one remaining death glider shot on over the top of them at breakneck speed, not managing to line them up in his gun-sights because of their sudden stop.

With the speed and lethal skill of a masterful pilot, Teal'c snapped off one twin-burst of weapons-fire right into the underside of the death glider as it tore right on by them, which ripped straight through the entire length of the vessel and caused it to disintegrate in seconds. The momentum at which the space-craft was traveling when it had been hit kept the fighter's debris hurling forward through the black void.

The two SG-1 members had been lucky, that time, and they both knew it. They quickly joined up with the lone X-302 fighter that had taken out the first paired death glider, and the two space-craft threw themselves yet again right back into the fray. There was no giving up and no retreat – not until their forces had triumphed over those who served the Goa'uld Tel'mar.

# SG1 #

_In space above PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

They were almost through the Ha'tak mothership's shields, finally... but the damage wrought against their own vessel in retaliatory strikes was substancial. Colonel Emerson also found his attention drawn to the heated, intense dogfighting going on out in the depths of space in front of them; already, four of the X-302s had been destroyed in the battle, with two pilot/navigator pairings lost because they had not managed to eject in time. It was still a brutal conflict, but at last the tide was turning in their favour out there as well.

Paul turned to look at Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter and Dr Daniel Jackson, who were standing slightly off to the side of the main action stations around the bridge of the _Odyssey_. He beckoned them both over to join him by the viewscreen, and they all looked on as the larger battle beyond the reinforced glass raged on.

"So, how long do you think we have to keep this up?" he asked Carter, specifically. Daniel didn't say a word, but simply watched as the lights-show in the far distance continued ever onwards unabated.

"It should be almost over now, sir," Sam replied. She went over to the nearest crew-member with a portable dataslate in their hands, and asked to look at the device. Then quickly, the woman tapped a few icons on the reactive screen, and brought up the relevant information over the wireless network that linked the computer equipment with the rest of the ship's functions.

Carter had the information that she had been seeking brought up on the dataslate, and went over to show it to Emerson directly. "We are reasonably confident now that we know how much a regular Ha'tak mothership can take before its shield generators give out – this vessel has almost reached that limit. So, unless Tel'mar has made upgrades to his warship, it should have its shields collapse inside of the next five minutes."

"Excellent," Colonel Emerson said. "That is good to hear. Taking out this Goa'uld Lord who attacked our ship with such calleous brutality will be a fine ending to this entire situation. Don't you agree?"


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

_In space above PJ3-176, onboard the Ha'tak mothership,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Things were turning for the worst now, on a more severe setting than ever. Denamor looked to Tel'mar for guidance, but the Goa'uld Lord simply stared straight back at his First Prime, grinning slightly.

When the shield generators finally failed and the Ha'tak shuddered with the impact of the Tau'ri weapons slamming into its hull and detonating, the Unas/Goa'uld finally stood up and stepped down away from his throne, off the raised podium.

"You have all served me well in these final moments," Tel'mar said, speaking loud enough so that his voice carried to everyone that was in the Pel'tak control room. "The war with the Ori followers on our world has brought us to the brink of annihilation, and now the Tau'ri are about to drive us into the abyss. But know this – your Lord Tel'mar will go on, even if you all die here today in my stead."

With that, the monstrous creature that was, in its way, both Tel'mar and something else, reached out to trigger a device on its forearm that Denamor had never really paid any attention to before, but which had been on the Goa'uld for a number of weeks now. In moments, a bright white light illuminated its entire body, and Tel'mar was teleported off the bridge of the Ha'tak – he had activated a localized teleportation, using Asgard technology that had filtered through much of the Goa'uld aristocracy over the last couple of years.

Denamor could hardly believe it. The sense of betrayal was immediate and almost completely overwhelming. _What happened...? What has he done to me?_

"There are two more explosive devices coming towards us!" one of the Jaffa standing in the Pel'tak with Denamor shouted out, the fear and disbelief over what had just happened quite evident in his own voice. Without shields, there was little doubt that the Ha'tak could stand two more direct hits, considering all the damage now they had already absorbed. The vessel was about to be destroyed, and none of them had anywhere to go now, on account of their Master's treachery.

Denamor knew he could do nothing to rouse anyone's hopes on that bridge, so he stayed silent and said nothing. The Goa'uld had betrayed them all at the end, and now they were all about to die. There was no way out for any of the warriors on this mothership – thousands of loyal fighters were about to lose their lives for their Lord, while Tel'mar escaped into the void and the chaos of the battle around them.

It was the way of their kind, to think only of their own survival. The Goa'uld Tel'mar had used them all to get him away from danger, and now he had thrown them all to the enemy just to save his own life. The First Prime closed his eyes tightly to stop the tears welling up in them from spilling out, then waited for the inevitable. Death, at least, would come quickly to them all now...

# SG1 #

_In space above PJ3-176,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Teal'c had lined up one of the few remaining death gliders in their part up in his sights, and had squeezed the trigger to send two bolts of pure yellow plasma-energy straight into the alien space-craft when the looming Ha'tak mothership, no less than twenty miles away from their own position, was struck by the two rockets fired from the _Odyssey_.

The blinding light from the twin nuclear warheads detonating lit up the darkness of space, and if it wasn't for the refractive glass canopy on the X-302s, then Teal'c and Cam would both have probably lost their eyesight from the intense flare.

"Woah baby! What a sight for sore eyes!" Colonel Cameron Mitchell exclaimed, as they both took in the destruction of the massive Ha'tak mothership. The looming vessel began to break up and disintegrate almost immediately, with huges pieces of its superstructure beginning to snap away from the larger components of the ship and spin off into the darkness as they looked on.

With this, a number of the death gliders that still remained broke off from the fighting and tore away into space, heading straight for the Tau'ri warship in what Teal'c immediately realized had to be a coordinated revenge attack.

Most of the death gliders were taken out before reaching the _Odyssey_ by X-302s that immediately switched over to pursuit mode, chasing them down and shooting them to bits before they could close in with the Tau'ri base space-craft. But a handful of the Goa'uld vessels managed to get within weapons-range of the warship, and opened fire upon it as soon as they could.

Luckily enough, Teal'c and Cam Mitchell could see that the _Odyssey's_ shields were still holding, and most of the shots that were blasted off against the massive craft did little to no direct damage. They couldn't get any bursts of the bright yellow energy-bolts to penetrate through the protective shielding.

Then the railguns came online, and swept through space all around the ship itself, cutting through death gliders left and right; blasting them apart and chasing others through the void until they too met the same fiery fate.

"Well, that was one hell of a fight, hey T-Man?" Mitchell inquired, reaching over the gap between the front and rear cockpit compartments to give the Jaffa a hearty pat on the shoulder.

"Indeed it was, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied simply. He joined a larger formation of X-302 fighters that were making their way back to the _Odyssey_, working their own space-craft into the larger squadron on their return back to the mothership. The Jaffa pilot was tired from the intense dogfight they had just gone through, as well as all the fighting and travelling they had gone through back on the surface of the planet. Teal'c was honestly looking forward to some rest and relaxation, back on Earth. "We are fortunate to have come through the conflict with our lives."

_That was Teal'c way of saying, 'hell, that was a damn close one!'_ As soon as this thought raced through Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell's head, Cam had to really fight the urge not to laugh out loud. The sentiment was quite apt, and probably accurate as well, but it wasn't appropriate to voice at that moment – or, really, any moment.

Not everyone who flew out in their wing to meet the death glider menace would be returning to fight another day... there _had_ been casualties on the Tau'ri side of things, as well, but still the battle had been pretty one-sided nonetheless.

But now it was over. Finally. And they could all get back to their homeworld, Earth, without any further incident.

# SG1 #

The teleportation was carried off flawlessly. Tel'mar had been beamed off the doomed Ha'tak mothership just moments before the vessel was destroyed by the Tau'ri missiles, and found himself instead standing in the rear compartment of a Tel'tak cargo ship. It was already cloaked, and had been for quite some time, having taken up orbit parrallel with the Ha'tak mothership just before it had left the orbit of the planet.

Onboard were Kiana, who still wore a prepetual frown after being overwhelmed by Samantha Carter in her successful escape, and Telos, one of the dungeon guardians and supposedly, a very loyal follower of the First Prime, Denamor. In fact, both of them had been a part of Lord Tel'mar's elite cadre, and owed their true and only alliegance to him. Tel'mar had used Telos, and Kern before he had been killed in the strike on their fortress, to monitor his new First Prime, and ensure that the man had his god's best interests at heart above his own.

It had been a successful way to maintain a good overview on the most powerful servant in Tel'mar's empire, but when the end had come, they proved infinitely more useful in ensuring a proper avenue of escape. The last great assault against the Tau'ri had been a long shot from the start, but even so, Tel'mar had really thought they stood to inflict far more casualties upon their enemies then they had.

It had been an utter slaughter, as far as he was concerned. The humans of Earth had obliterated the last vestiges of military might Tel'mar had left in that entire sector of space. And they had done so in under a half-hour... it was a major accomplishment, and though he had suffered incredible losses over the months due to the Ori rebellion, it still shamed the Goa'uld Lord greatly.

Despite his own egomaniacal nature, Tel'mar knew the truth – he wasn't the ruler to be feared and revered in the galaxy. He was nothing more than a shattered, humiliated leader, whose people had deserted him for a more alluring message.

Origin was the new religion of choice, and was raising far more fanatics and fielding much stronger armies than anyone in their galaxy could deal with. It was gloomy and depressing to think about, but still it was the truth and the truth couldn't be ignored. The Goa'uld knew he had to relocate, and immediately. It wasn't worth starting up again. Better to hide out in some deep, dark corner and wait for the tide to wash over him... _then_ begin anew, when the chaos and anarchy reigned supreme again.

"Let's get out of here," Tel'mar said softly to Kiana, standing by her side at the control port of the Tel'tak. They watched as the last of the low-tech Tau'ri space-fighters returned to their mothership, victorious, and the large Earth vessel began to head out into the debris field where most of the dogfighting had been waged, to collect the canopies in which fighter crews that had ejected in time waited to be picked up.

The Goa'uld female immediately powered up the hyperdrive, and their large cargo vessel was rocketed off into subspace, leaving behind the scene of Tel'mar's final disgraceful defeat.

# SG1 #

_In space above PJ3-176, onboard the USS Odyssey,  
the Milky Way Galaxy._

Colonel Carter sat by as the nurse carefully attended to the pumps and cables that were attached to various parts of Major Conner's body, making sure that everything was in place and operating properly before moving on to other duties. The Major was in a critical but stable condition, and the doctor that had supervised his initial treatment followed through with the rest of Frank's stabilization, holding out high hopes for a full and complete recovery.

Daniel watched on, standing by the doorway that led out of that section of the infirmary – he didn't want to sit down, and was really there for the most part because Sam needed someone to be with her. Cam and Teal'c were both back onboard the ship with the rest of the X-302 crews, but they were involved in post-operations debriefing, then would take some time off for a much-needed rest.

Dr Jackson knew that both he and Sam needed a break, as well, but also knew that this wouldn't sit with Carter. She was too concerned for Frank Conner, and Daniel knew Sam well enough to know that she still felt a great deal of guilt over what had happened to him.

"Sam, it's okay to get some rest," he said to her gently, as kind and sincere as he could be under the trying circumstances. "It's alright now, the Major's condition has stabilized, and they say he's going to be alright. You don't have to stay here, and after everything we've all been through, it'll be fine enough to go and get some rest on a real bed."

Samantha tilted her head up to look at Daniel, and gave him an understanding smile. "No, Daniel, I'm fine right where I am. You go and get that rest."

Looking back at Carter, Daniel thought for a moment about arguing the point with Sam, but in the end he decided against it. It just wasn't worth the trouble in the end. He turned and walked slowly out of the infirmary, leaving Carter hunkered down in the small, uncomfortable-looking chair beside Major Frank Conner's bed.

She let out a deep sigh as Daniel left her side, closed her eyes, and rested her head down against her knees, which were folded up against her own body. She would try and get some rest, as Daniel said... it would be tough, due to the present situation, but Carter knew that she had to try anyway.

They all had a long trip ahead of them, on the journey back to Earth.

# SG1 #

_Stargate Command, Earth,  
Milky Way Galaxy._

"So, in all, we lost four personnel in the fighting with the death glider wings over the planet, and managed to inflict serious casualties both upon Lord Tel'mar's remaining loyalist troops as well as the rebellious Ori followers," Lt Colonel Samantha Carter said in summary, closing over the file folder she had been reading briefly out of during parts of her report to General Landry.

SG-1, as well as General Hank Landry, the new head of Stargate Command, were all seated around a rectangular briefing table in a large conference room adjacent to the C.O's private office, and above the control room for the Stargate itself, as well as numerous other vital functions for the facility.

They were near the end of a very long debriefing session over the circumstances and events that occurred over the last couple of days, that saw so much carnage and destruction wrought, and had put a number of military personnel in harm's way. An adequate explanation had to be provided to the General, so he in turn could justify the decisions he had made to his own superiors.

The commander of the SGC leaned back slightly in his swivel chair, and favoured them all with a slight smile. "I'm glad that we were able to accomplish something out there, then," he replied. "And we were able to get you all out of there safely."

"How's Major Conner doing?" Mitchell asked Carter, there having been no information on his current state in Sam's briefing other than a quick mention of his being wounded in a firefight with Jaffa on the planet.

"He's going to be fine," Sam replied, and then continued on immediately, "luckily, the doctor onboard the _Odyssey_ was able to treat his injuries straight away, and fix up much of the damage before it was too late for him. He says that the Major should make a full recovery, over the next six months."

"That's great to hear," General Landry replied, and there was sincerity in his words. Hank Landry was a somewhat detached leader, for the most part, but he did care deeply for the men and women under his command. "But tell me, is there any information to be had on the current state of affairs on the planet PJ3-176?"

"Yes, well I had Sergeant Harriman send a MALP through to the planet once we returned to the SGC, on the assumption that you would want to know if the world went Ori, as feared," Samantha Carter said. She paused for a moment, her expression grave, then continued, "And I'm afraid that, with the final conventional forces of Lord Tel'mar destroyed in the space battle against us, as well as the Goa'uld's cowardly escape, there was little stopping the Ori rebels from sweeping through the few holdout territories. The entire planet has turned Ori, and those who haven't embraced Origin have been purged."

"Ahh, well that's hardly surprising," Daniel Jackson muttered. Cam put his head in his hands and rubbed his temple forcefully, with just the thumbs of each hand. The stress was getting to him – the mission they had returned from; so much danger and death, for little gain at all other than to escape with their lives. The fight against the Ori, just like this one engagement, seemed just as hopeless as ever.

They would need a major breaththrough, if there was any chance of stopping the full-blown invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy that every one of them feared.

_THE END_


End file.
